284 Weed flora of raised bunds and undulated lands growing along the rice fields of Kashmir Valley Aijaz Hassan Ganie*, Anzar A. Khuroo 1 , Bilal A. Tali 2 , Zafar A. Reshi 2 and B.A. Wafai 2 Department of Botany, University of Kashmir, Kargil Campus 194 105 Received: 16 July 2016; Revised: 28 September 2016 ABSTRACT For an effective weed management in the rice fields, it is crucial to identify the actual weeds as well as those growing on the raised bunds and undulated lands nearby rice fields. The present study was carried out with this aim to record the weeds growing on bunds and nearby undulated lands of the rice fields in Kashmir Valley, so that not only the actual weeds inside the rice field but also the nearby growing weed species that may pose future risk could also be targeted under the weed management practices. During the present study, 58 weed species belonging to 45 genera and 27 families were recorded along raised bunds and undulated lands of rice fields in Kashmir Valley. Of these, 38 weed species were terrestrial and 20 were semi-aquatic species; and it is the latter set of species that can become the future weeds of rice fields in the region. Key words: Bund weeds, Management, Semi-aquatic, Terrestrial, Weed flora Rice (Oryza sativa) is one of the top most cereal crops providing food for more than half of world’s human population (Kumar et al. 2008, Mulungu et al. 2011). Being staple food for more than 3 billion people across the world, rice provides 50-80 per cent daily calorie intake (Choudhary et al. 2011). Throughout the world, India is the second largest producer of rice after China; and rice is the second most important crop in India (Savary et al. 2005). The crop plays a pivotal role in the economy of India and thus occupies top priority in the agricultural policy and food security of the country (Dangwal et al. 2011). Uncontrolled infestation by obnoxious weeds is a serious problem for rice cultivation, and there are estimates that weeds incur an annual rice yield loss of 15-21% worldwide (Oerke et al. 1994). In fact, out of total losses incurred to rice due to various biotic stressors, weeds are known to account for one-third (Rao and Nagamani 2007). It has been estimated that infestation of weeds in rice fields reduces the grain yield by 75.8, 70.6 and 62.6% in dry seeded rice, wet seeded rice and transplanted rice, respectively (Singh et al. 2005). In the Kashmir Valley, rice is regarded to be more than just the staple food, and it finds its way in local parlance for the word: “meal” (Ganie et al. 2015). A relatively small area of about 0.27 million hectares of land are under rice cultivation in the region and the crop contributes significantly to the regional economy (Ganie et al. 2015). Although the rice is crucially linked to the livelihood of local inhabitants in the Kashmir Valley, yet the yield loss incurred due to infestation of various weeds is one of the major problems in the region. It is in this backdrop the present study was undertaken to identify and document the weed species growing along raised bunds and on undulated lands of rice fields across the Kashmir Valley with an emphasis on taxonomic diversity, habit, occurrence and life span, which in turn, can provide useful insights in the development of effective weed management practices. MATERIALS AND METHODS Field surveys were conducted across the Kashmir Valley to identify weeds growing along raised bunds and in between undulated lands of rice fields during 2010-2014, in the months of April to October. Being situated in northern fringe of the Indian sub-continent, the Valley lies between 33 o 22’ and 34 o 50’ N latitudes and 73 o 55’and 73 o 33’ E longitudes covering an area of about 16,000 sq. km. During the present study, 3 sites from each district with 10 spots at each site of Kashmir Valley have been selected to record the weed flora. Field surveys were conducted twice a month in each site for collection of weed species specimens. The collected plant specimens were pressed, dried, preserved and properly identified with the help of available literature *Corresponding author: aijazku@gmail.com 1 Centre for Biodiversity & Taxonomy, University of Kashmir 2 Department of Botany, University of Kashmir, Srinagar – 190 006, J&K Indian Journal of Weed Science 48(3): 284–286, 2016 DOI: 10.5958/0974-8164.2016.00069.1