Taxonomic diversity and abundance of weed flora in upland rice fields of Southern Groundnut Basin, Senegal

In Southern Groundnut Basin of Senegal, weed management is one of the biggest challenges for improving upland rice production. This study aimed to evaluate the systematic composition and the infestation of weed species in order to promote a sustainable management in a context of biodiversity decreasing. Thus, phytosociological surveys were carried out during rainy season in upland rice fields. The results revealed that flora consisted of 62 species distributed in 47 genera and 15 families. The families with the highest species richness were Poaceae (24.2%), Fabaceae (12.9%) and Malvaceae (12.9%) which account for half of recorded species. Biological spectrum analysis showed that the flora is largely dominated by therophytes, with 95% of recorded species. Infestation diagram based on weeds abundance and frequency showed eight groups of species reflecting their degree of infestation. Among them, Digitaria horizontalis, Mariscus squarrosus, and Spermacoce stachydea belonged to major weeds and potential general weeds were potentially the most injurious against upland rice because of their high recovery and frequency.