Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv

Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv., a C4 annual grass, is locally known in Malaysia as Rumput Sambau and in English as Barnyardgrass. E. crusgalli was included in the Global Compendium of Weeds and is considered one of the world’s worst weeds (Randall, 2017) in rice and earlier it was also listed as a weed in at least 36 other crops in 61 countries throughout tropical and temperate regions of the world (Holm et al., 1991). E. crusgalli is also considered an environmental weed that has become invasive in natural grasslands, coastal forests and disturbed sites in Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe and America (FAO, 2014; USDA-ARS, 2014). In Malaysia, it was detected in 1925 (NWGIAS, 2014) and suspected to be introduced unintentionally through contaminated seeds (Moody, 1989). Since then, the weed has spread and becomes the most important weed in all rice growing areas. Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (2009), Malaysia has included E. crus-galli as one of the Invasive Alien Species (IAS) that affects all sectors such as agriculture, forestry, fishery, marine and animals. In Malaysia, the adoption of double cropping and more rapidly maturing cultivars in rice cultivation and a shift from transplanting to direct- seeding has resulted in grasses such as E. crus-galli, largely replacing the previously dominant broadleaved weeds and sedges (Ho & ZuM, 1988). The limited success in the suppression of E. crus-galli is a concern (Begum et al., 2005,2005a). In this paper synthesized information is included on the ecology, current scenario of infestation, losses caused and management of E. crus-galli in Malaysia...