Question

A weed of both cropped and non cropped lands

• A. Urena lobata
• B. Urtica dioica
• C. Ageratum sp
• D. Solanum xanthocarpum

Hint:

Think of a weed you see just as often in maize or sugarcane fields as along roadsides and wastelands.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Weed science texts sort common Indian weeds into three groups: weeds that stay mostly in cultivated fields, weeds that stay mostly on wasteland, and weeds that grow well in both. This question asks us to pick the one from the both group.

1. Urena lobata: Usually found on field margins, forest edges and waste areas, not a typical field crop weed.
2. Urtica dioica: A stinging nettle mostly restricted to hilly wastelands and grazing tracts.
3. Ageratum sp: Grows thickly as a weed inside cropped fields like maize and sugarcane, and just as easily on wastelands, roadsides and fallow land, so it belongs to both categories at once.
4. Solanum xanthocarpum: Chiefly a weed of open wasteland and grazing areas rather than crop fields.

Ageratum sp is correct because it is one of the few weeds that thrives equally in cropped land and non cropped waste areas.

Let's summarize:

• Weeds are classified by habitat: cropped land, non cropped land, or both.
• Ageratum sp is the standard example of a weed common to both categories.

So the correct option is Ageratum sp.