5 Weeds To Watch
Beware of Florida’s most troublesome “plants out of place” in vegetable production.
5 Weeds To Watch ctd.
2. Spiny amaranth (Amaranthus spinosus)
Spiny amaranth, a member of the pigweed family, is an annual broadleaf weed common in vegetable and croplands, landscaped areas, orchards, and other disturbed areas. It has smooth, branched reddish stems, usually 1 to 3 feet tall, but occasionally 6 feet tall. The stem has a pair of long sharp spines at the base of most leaves. The leaves alternate along the stem with long stalks.
Leaf blades are usually egg-shaped to oval with the tip somewhat pointed, often with a small bristle. The flowers are green in dense clusters in the leaf axils or at tips of stems. The very small seeds are numerous, flattened, circular with smooth covers. Treatment of vegetables with labeled herbicides early in the season provides good control of spiny amaranth.
This article was contributed by Calvin Odero, a UF/IFAS Extension weed specialist based at the Everglades Research and Education Center in Belle Glade.
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