Weed Phytosociological Attributes of Sugar Beet at Badeggi, Nigeria

Weed population trial was undertaken to determine prevalence and distribution of weeds, and asses weed flora shift in major sugar beet growing soils at Badeggi Nigeria. The selected soils are namely Loamy, Alluvial and Clay soil. The Sugar beet fields were assessed using 1.0 m × 1.0 m quadrat placed randomly at vegetative stage. Weed seedlings in each quadrat were clipped at the soil level and identified according to standards. Result revealed that a total of 38 weed species were recorded. Graminaea and compositae were most abundant and diversified families based on the number of species recorded. Individual weed species shows variation in their abundance, dominance and frequency. The most frequent weed species in the Sugar beet fields irrespective of the soils were Hyptis suaveolens, Paspalum scrobiculata, Kyllinga squamulata, Dactylactenum aegypium and Cynadon dactylon and were considered as the most important species in the surveyed areas. Thus, when devising a weed control strategies for Sugar beet, same control option should be considered for the location that have similar weed flora and vise-versa.