Weed Herbarium

Hazardana

Common Name: Gale of the Wind
Scientific Name: Phyllanthus niruri L.
Family Name: Euphorbiaceae
Type: Broadleaf

Identification Notes

EPPO Code

PYLNI

Life Cycle

Annual

Morphology

Stem: Erect, slender, branched from the base, glabrous. Leaves: Simple, alternate, petiole minute. Flower: Short stalked, minute. Fruit: A capsule

Growing season

Rabi and Kharif

Germination period

January to December

Flowering period

January to December

Propagation

By Seed

Habitat

Found in the fields of aus rice, jute, broadcast aman rice and rabi crops. Also found in roadsides, levee of crop fields and fallow lands. It is a pioneer species and is one of the first to appear at the start of the rainy season. It grows in wet soils and mature plants tolerate complete flooding for several years without injury.

Weed potential

In India, P. niruri is most frequently reported in rice, maize, cassava, sorghum, beans and in dry land crops. In Bangladesh and India it is reported as a common weed of sugarcane and jute. In Nepal it is reported as a weed of rice fields and sugarcane.

Control measure

Manual weeding and/or Chemical control

Recommended herbicide

Oxadiargyl / Pendimethalin/ MSMA plus / 2,4-D are effective to control

Distribution

Pantropical in distribution, it is believed to have originated in tropics of Asia

Medicinal properties

Traditional used to treat jaundice, diarrhoea, dyspepsia, genitourinary infectionsand renal stones. In Brazil, where the plant is known as‘Chanca Piedra’ or ‘stone breaker’.

Department of Agronomy

Bangladesh Agricultural University