What is Echinochloa colona?
Echinochloa colona is a kind of wild grass that is native to tropical Asia. Echinochloa colona is also known as jungle rice, deccan grass, or awnless barnyard grass. All of these names refer to the same Echinochloa colona plant. In the past, scientists believed that it belonged to a particular species of Panicum.
It is the wild progenitor of Echinochloa frumentacea, sometimes known as sawa millet, which is a grain crop that is farmed. Some taxonomists consider the two taxa to be the same species; if this is the case, the varieties that have been domesticated may also be referred to as E. colona.
Echinochloa colona: Key facts
| Common Name | Jungle Rice |
| Family | Poaceae |
| Morphology | A grass with tufts that grows up to 60 cm tall |
| Range | Temperate subtropical and tropical zones. |
| Habitats | Southern North America’s areas, including dumps, cultivated fields, and ditches. China’s irrigated fields and moist areas are home to this weed. |
Echinochloa colona: Features
- The Echinochloa colona grass known as jungle rice can grow to be anywhere between 30 and 100 centimetres tall.
- It ranges in colour from green to purple and has a tufted, stoloniferous appearance.
- Echinochloa colona are capable of rooting at the lower nodes and have a reddish-purple colouration at their bases.
- The leaves are simple, lanceolate in shape, and range in length from 10 to 25 centimetres. Their width ranges from 3 to 7 millimetres.
- The inflorescence ranges in colour from green to purple; is between 6 and 12 centimetres in length, and contains between four and eight small racemes along its main axis.
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What are the benefits of Echinochloa colona?
- All types of cattle, particularly dairy animals and water buffaloes, find the Echinochloa colona to be a nutritious and appetising source of feed.
- Additionally, it has been planted in Egypt as a cereal crop, and its seeds, after being boiled or crushed into flour, can be included in mush or used to make porridge.
- According to the findings of a study on gas generation, Echinochloa colona has the potential to satisfy the maintenance requirements of ruminants.
Echinochloa colona: How to get rid of this weed?
Chemical control
- Trifluralin pre-plant treatment controlled E. colona in soybeans by 80%.
- In 1996, fenoxaprop-P + lactofen gave the best control (88.9%) of a broad spectrum of weeds, including E. colona.
- Fluazifop controlled E. colona in Haryana, India, by 95% in 1994 and 1995. E. colona was unaffected by chlorimuron.
- Tank-mixed chlorimuron and fluazifop inhibited E. colona control.
Biological control
- Tsukamoto et al. studied E. colona inoculation in a Japanese greenhouse.
- When appropriate dew was given, 100% mortality occurred at 20-30°C. 16 hours of dew was needed for 100% mortality.
- Inoculating 1.5-leaf E. colona seedlings with 5.0 x 107 conidia/m2 caused 100% death.
- Increasing inoculum density boosted weed control efficacy on Echinochloa seedlings.
Cultural control
- Hand-weeding enhanced rice yields. Three to four weedings 15, 30, 45, and 60 days following rice emergence produced the greatest yield (4.1 t/ha).
- Oxadiazon controlled E. colona and other weeds for 6 to 7 weeks. Continuous flooding from 6 weeks following rice emergence provided excellent weed control and yields equivalent to or better than weeded rice.
What is the difference between jungle rice and barnyard grass?
Jungle rice is very difficult to distinguish from the other species in the Echinochloa genus that also includes the Barnyardgrass. One way to differentiate between them is that while jungle rice has awnless spikelets, Barnyardgrass has spikelets with different lengths of awns.
FAQs
Can this plant be grown in homes?
It is advised against growing this plant at home because it is a weed.
Is Jungle Rice edible?
Yes. When food is scarce, it is possible to consume the young plants and shoots, which are also edible.
