Content available at : https://ejournal.unib.ac.id/index.php/jagritropica/index ISSN (PRINT) 2621-217X ISSN(ONLINE) 2621-699X 76 Weeds Associated with Papaya Plants (Carica Papaya L.) in Bengkulu Nia Kurniati Marpaung 1 , Mimi Sutrawati 1* , Ridha Rizki Novanda 2 , Dwi Wahyuni Ganefianti 3 , and Tunjung Pamekas 1 1 Departement of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Bengkulu 2 Departement of Social Economics of Agricuture, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Bengkulu, Indonesia 3 Departement of Agrecotecnology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Bengkulu Corresponding Author: mimi_sutrawati@unib.ac.id ABSTRACT: Papaya crops associated with weeds are commonly found in Kepahiang and Rejang Lebong district, Bengkulu. The presence of weeds can affect the development and productivity of papaya. Until now, the species and diversity of weeds associated with papaya crops have not been reported. This study aimed to identify and determine weed density around papaya crops. Sampling was conducted to measure and calculate weed density using the quadratic method measuring 1 m x 1 m. The data collection was done by randomly taking the weeds on the plots as many as 10 points. Based on the result of weed identification, there were 16 species of weeds spread over 9 families. The calculation of the highest relative density in Padang Lekat, Durian Depun Village and Dua Jalur Road was Ageratum conyzoides (0,584%), Claytonia perfoliata (0,306%) and Eleusine indica (0,274%). Keywords: Diversity, identification, papaya, weed. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Marpaung, N. K., M. Sutrawati, R. R. Novanda, D. W. Ganefianti, and T. Pamekas. 2022. Weeds Associated with Papaya Plants (Carica Papaya L.) in Bengkulu. Agritropica: Journal of Agricultural Science. 5(2): 76-82. Doi: https://doi.org/10.31186/J.agritropica.5.2.76-82. INTRODUCTION Papaya ( Carica papaya L.) is an economically important fruit crop due to its high nutritional content (Schweiggert et al., 2014). Papaya fruit has a relatively high selling power because of its many benefits (Aravind et al., 2013). The Central Statistics Agency (2019) reported that papaya production in Bengkulu province in 2019 was not as high as in 2015. The decline in papaya production could be caused by disturbances of plant- disturbing organisms, namely pests, diseases, and weeds. Yield losses due to papaya yellow mosaic disease in Bengkulu were reported to reach Rp. 9,135. 203 per year (Novanda et.al. 2021). There have been no reports of weed species associated with papaya plants in Bengkulu and their potential as alternative hosts for papaya pathogenic viruses. Weeds associated with papaya plants can cause direct losses through space competition and nutrient competition, inhibiting the growth and development of papaya plants (Korav et al., 2018). This is becoming increasingly important because weeds can release toxic compounds (allelopathic) excreted by weeds (Umiyati and Kurniadie, 2016). Weeds can cause indirect losses as host plants for pests and pathogens that cause field diseases (Subagyo and Hidayat, 2014). Identification of weed types and calculation of weed density can be the first step in developing weed control strategies in the future. This study aims to identify the types of weeds and calculate the density of weeds associated with papaya plants.