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POPULATION DENSITY AND REPRODUCTIVE OUTPUT OF ACROPTILON REPENS L., IN TURKEY

O. KOLOREN^1*, S. UYGUR¹, O. BOZDOGAN¹, F.N. UYGUR¹ AND U. SCHAFFNER²

Abstract: Acroptilon repens of the family Asteraceae L., is a rhizomatous perennial, extends from Turkey throughout Central Asia to China. A. repens is a major weed in vineyards, orchards and meadows  in Central Turkey. Our aim was to describe the population density of A. repens patches in Central of Turkey. The patch experiment was conducted in 15 undisturbed meadows in 2003. Six 1 m² plots were placed in each patch, 2 in the centre (C), 2 halfway between the centre and the edge (M), and 2 at the edge of each patch (E). Twenty capitula were randomly selected from each plot to record the number of healthy and undeveloped seeds as well as the number of seeds damaged by herbivores. Population density of A. repens was recorded in August when the plant was mature. Mean shoot density of the 15  A. repens patches in 2003 was 12.14 m^-2. The capitula density per shoot ranged 4.20- 229.60 plant ^-1. The relationship between mean number of capitula per shoot and shoot density in A. repens  were found negative correlation. The number of seeds per capitula of A. repens was on average 52.36 and ranged from 12.06-24.31.

¹Department of Plant Protection, Agricultural Faculty, Cukurova University, Adana, TR  01330, Turkey

²CABI Europe-Switzerland, CH-2800 Delémont, Switzerland