Abstract
Prosopis juliflora (Swartz) DC, belongs to leguminous family
of Mimosaceae, is one of the most controversial exotic plant species
that infests field crops, small grains, grasslands, and a variety of
other habitats in central and southern Pakistan. P. juliflora is
amongst the most invasive species in hot semiarid and arid regions
of Pakistan, which showed negative impacts on local flora of
Pakistan. At the same time it is also regarded as an economically
and ecologically important tree species of arid zone, where it is used
as fuel wood, timber, fodder (especially legume) for livestock
including goats, sheep, and cattle. Similarly it can be used as shade
in hot climates, as well as for stabilisation of sand dunes in the
coastal areas. P. juliflora is a perennial thorny shrub which under
favorable conditions also reached a height of 5m tall but
occasionally up to 12m. It is mostly grow through seeds which
exhibited a high level of seed dormancy due to a hard seed coat that
usually requires damage to germinate. High seed production, a
persistent seed bank, an endozoochory seed-dispersing mechanism,
and the ability to tolerate different mechanical, chemical and
biological control methods contribute to the success of P. juliflora in
these habitats. Similarly P. juliflora also exhibited allelochemical
activities which negatively affect the growth and germination of
competing native flora.
A. Hameed-Baloch, Haneef-ur-Rehman, Saeed Ahmed, M. Aslam-Buzdar, Gul Hasan. (2014) The Biology of Balochistan weeds: Prosopis juliflora (Swartz) DC, Hankén , Volume 6, Issue 1.
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