Beneficial Uses of Weeds

Weeds, the plants out of their proper place, have been known to cause many damages andlosses to crops and some are also known to cause health hazards. A number of management strategies for weeds are also adopted. But there are some uses of these weeds. 

Latana camara inflorescence 

Here are the highlights of some of the many advantages of these unwanted plants.

1. Use in Human Food

Some of the weeds are used as vegetables such as Bathu (باتھو) (Chinopodium album) is cooked with sarsoon in Pakistan. Similarly other weeds includes Amaranthus viridis and Digeria arvensis.

2. Use as Fodder

Many weeds are used as fodder for milch animals and other domesticated animals. Common weeds used as fodder are Convolvulus arvensis (field bind weed), Clitoria ternatea are good fodders for animals.

3. Use as green manure

Most of the times field is irrigated for preparation and weeds are allowed to grown in the fields, and when the weeds appear, they are ploughed down. This not only culminates the weeds but also add the organic matter to the soil. Some of the leguminous weeds have high nitrogen contents which are very helpful in this regard. 

For example, Datura sp. contains 3% nitrogen on dry weight basis. Calotropis gigantea, Tephrosia purprea and Croton sparsiflorus make excellent green manure for rice fields.

4. Use in medicine

Weeds are perhaps the oldest medicines available and many records exists predating to ancient history which tells about the use of weeds for making extracts for different diseases in ancient Chinese, Muslim and Arab civilization. The practice of traditional medicine is still bases on weeds.

5. Helpful against Soil Erosion

Weeds and specially grasses are good soil binders in the fallow land. Panicum repens is a common weed grass and it binds the soil with its dense root system. Similarly, Pennisetum clandestinum and Cenchrus sp. are also effective against soil erosion.

6. Use as Fuel

One example of use as fuel is the use of Prosopis juliflora which is a tree weed. People use it as fire wood.

7. Use in making Mats and Screens

The stems of some weeds are also used in making mats and screens (پردے اور چٹائیاں). Cyperus corymbosus and Cyperus pangorei stems are used for mats and Typha angustatastems are used for screens.

8. Indicators of Soil nutrients

Different types of weeds are present under specific soil conditions. Echinochloa colona grows in nutrient rich soils, Cymbopogon sp. grows in light soil and sedges are present in soils with drainage problems.

9. Other economic uses

• Useful in production of fragrance e.g., Cyperus rotundus

• Aromatic oils are extracted from Cymbopogon citratus (Citronella oil) and Cymbopogon martinii (Palmrosa) are used for manufacturing aromatic oil.

• Argemone mexicana is used in reclaimation of alkaline soils.

• Weeds growing in bushy habit are used for fencing purposes.

• Lantana camara is has beautiful inflorescence and it is plant now for landscaping.