DOI: https://doi.org/10.5513/JCEA01/26.4.4664
Original scientific paper
Distribution and habitats of fast spreading perennial weed Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers. in Slovakia
2025, 26 (4) p. 966-977
Nikola KOTLÁROVÁ, Ľuba ĎURIŠOVÁ, Samuel KŠIŇAN, Lenka TOMOVIČOVÁ, Pavol ELIÁŠ Jr.
Abstract
Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers. is an extensively distributed alien weed species that poses a potential threat to agricultural agrosystems. Infested crops experience large yield losses with secondary problems due to the impact of Sorghum halepense as an alternative host for diseases and pests. The paper aimed to process the historical and current distribution and habitats of Sorghum halepense in Slovakia. The results showed that until the 1950s, this weed grass was rare; localities were found only in southwestern Slovakia. With the intensification of agriculture and the import of contaminated seeds, Sorghum halepense began to gradually spread, while initially the type of habitats colonised by it was relatively balanced (fields, ruderal stands and railways and harbours). From the mid-1970s, it established itself mainly in harbours and railways, and after 2000 mainly on the edges of roads. Currently, it is spreading intensively to the north, and the first localities in the Carpathians have been recorded. Its intensive spread represents a significant risk for agriculture in Slovakia.
Keywords
alien species, central Europe, occurrence, Poaceae, stands
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