EFFECTS OF SUPPRESSION APPLICATIONS ON SUMMER ASPHODEL (Asphodelus aestivus Brot.) DENSITY, BOTANICAL COMPOSITION, FORAGE YIELD AND QUALITY OF AEGEAN RANGELANDS

Abstract

Summer asphodel (Asphodelus aestivus Brot.) has an underground storage organ that enables the plant to survive extreme conditions and contains alkaloids that are toxic to the livestock in rangelands. For this reason, the experiment was carried out in the rangeland of Aydin province (Turkey) in order to determine the most effective methods of weed management where there is an increase in the summer asphodel (Asphodelus aestivus Brot.) population. In the study, the effects of 8 different control methods (control, mowing, fertilization, paraquat, glyphosate, 2,4-D, 2,4-D + Picloram, grubbing) on yield, quality and botanical composition were investigated. Result of the findings in this study shows that the grasses increased more in vegetation. The highest values of hay yield were observed in paraquat and fertilization applications. High values of crude protein yield were found in fertilization and grubbing applications. The lowest population of summer asphodel (Asphodelus aestivus Brot.) was obtained grubbing and paraquat applications. Together with these results, grubbing, fertilization, paraquat and glyphosate applications come to the fore. However, due to the high workforce, it is significant to choose an application considering the size of the rangeland and the population of the indicator weed species.