Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Ecballium elaterium in Almond Orchards

Abstract

The concept of site-specific weed management is based on the assumption that weeds are aggregated in patches. In this study, we surveyed four plots in four commercial almond orchards for three years and mapped the locations of Ecballium elaterium, a troublesome weed in Israeli agriculture, specifically in almond orchards. We analyzed the spatial pattern of the plants’ locations using nearest neighbor analysis and Ripley’s L function. The number of E. elaterium plants increased by more than 70% in the four plots from 2015 to 2016. In addition, the observed mean distance between nearest neighbors increased by more than 10% from 2016 and 2017. We found in all four plots that the spatial pattern of E. elaterium was clustered and that these weed patch locations were consistent over the years although the density within the patches increased. The extent of these clusters ranged between 40 to 70 m and remained similar in size throughout the study. These features make E. elaterium a suitable target for site-specific weed management and for pre-emergence patch spraying. Knowledge of the spatial and temporal pattern of weeds could aid in understanding their ecology and could help target herbicide treatments to specific locations of the field and, thus, reducing the chemical application.

Ethnomedicinal landscape: distribution of used medicinal plant species in Nepal

“…Understanding distribution pattern and selection of medicinal plants for local use may aid in identifying critical resource sites and hotspots in the region, contributing to plant biodiversity conservation. Heatmaps are used to easily identify clusters (hotspots) that can be used to map the density of medicinal plants [ 50 , 51 ] and to devise the management strategies. So far, little attention has been received in management of medicinal plant in the Nepal Himalaya [ 52 ], which is extremely vulnerable to climate change and is being affected by rapid land-use change and growing anthropogenic pressures [ 17 , 53 , 54 ].…”

Detection of Ecballium elaterium in hedgerow olive orchards using a low‐cost uncrewed aerial vehicle and open‐source algorithms

“…Ecballium elaterium (L.) Richard, popularly known as squirting cucumber, belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family and is an herbaceous, creeping, perennial plant present in the Mediterranean basin. In recent years, it has caused serious problems as a weed in olive groves and other woody crops because it is a hard‐to‐control weed and thus can easily expand its populations 1,2 . The control of this weed is complicated by the fact that, being a perennial plant that resprouts from rhizomes, it has continuous emergence, such that at certain times of the year stands with seedlings, flowering plants and fruiting plants can be found simultaneously in the same field.…”

“…This is relevant because hedgerow or superintensive olive groves are mainly under a no‐tillage system with natural covers, and only clearing work is carried out, which is incapable of controlling this weed. Blank et al 1 . have shown that the spatial distribution of E. elaterium in almond orchards shows an aggregate pattern in stands that are also stable over time by using geostatistical analyses.…”

“…This is relevant because hedgerow or superintensive olive groves are mainly under a no-tillage system with natural covers, and only clearing work is carried out, which is incapable of controlling this weed. Blank et al 1 have shown that the spatial distribution of E. elaterium in almond orchards shows an aggregate pattern in stands that are also stable over time by using geostatistical analyses. These characteristics make this weed susceptible to being managed by site-specific treatments, thus avoiding the application of homogeneous treatments in the entire plot and allows for an improvement in the efficacy of its control.…”

“…In recent years, it has caused serious problems as a weed in olive groves and other woody crops because it is a hard‐to‐control weed and thus can easily expand its populations. 1 , 2 The control of this weed is complicated by the fact that, being a perennial plant that resprouts from rhizomes, it has continuous emergence, such that at certain times of the year stands with seedlings, flowering plants and fruiting plants can be found simultaneously in the same field. It colonizes the inter‐row area of orchards infesting the natural or sown cover crops.…”