Abstract

SANCHEZ-TIGRERO, Santiago; MOREIRA-CASTRO, Juan  and  GARCIA-CRUZATTY, Luz. Dominance of Dichondra sericea and weed diversity under manual management in organic banana cultivation in Ecuador. Acta Agron. [online]. 2024, vol.73, n.1, pp.107-115.  Epub June 09, 2025. ISSN 0120-2812.  https://doi.org/10.15446/acag.v73n1.115606.

Ecuador, the world’s leading banana producer, faces challenges in the sustainable management of weeds in organic systems, where scientific information on their diversity is limited. This study evaluated the impact of manual weed control techniques (superficial weeding, selective weeding, machete slashing, and control [no weeding]) on weed diversity in an organic banana plantation at Hacienda Tecnoban (Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Ecuador). A floristic inventory was conducted in 900 m² plots during the dry and rainy seasons of 2022, identifying species using taxonomic keys and calculating diversity indices (Shannon, Simpson, Pielou). Fourteen weed species were recorded, with Dichondra sericea (50 % coverage) and Geophila macropoda (up to 44 %) being the most prominent. Statistical analysis (Kruskal-Wallis) revealed significant differences among treatments (p<0.05), with selective weeding maintaining the highest diversity by modulating D. sericea dominance. No differences were observed between climatic seasons (p>0.05), and the Sørensen index confirmed high floristic similarity among treatments (≥0.86) and seasonal stability (≥0.93). These results suggest that practices like selective weeding help preserve weed diversity without altering the natural composition, favoring resilient agroecosystems. The study provides evidence to optimize manual weed management in organic banana cultivation, promoting a balance between productivity with biodiversity conservation.

Keywords : Floristic diversity; organic agriculture; tropical agroecosystems; weed control.

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