Abstract

When Mr. S V. Ramamurty, I. C. S., was the Director of Agriculture, Madras, he drew the attention of the Departmental Officers to the problem of utilisation of weeds that cannot be prevented from growing. In 1938 the writer observed two such weeds viz., Croton sparsiflorus, Morong, and Tridax procumbens, Linn., which have been growing not only in Coimbatore. but all over the Presidency in so rank a fashion that it struck him that the potentialities of these two weeds must be discovered. In Coimbatore the writer has often found buffaloes grazing on T. 'procumbens, Linn. which led him to think that this weed must possess fodder value and in the case of C. sparsiflorus, Morong, he was very much struck with its luxuriant growth and its dark green leaves that it set him thinking that it should serve as a very good green manure. Independent of the writer, enquiries were being made by the District Agricultural Officers regarding this latter weed and its suitability as a green manure. Advantage was taken of this also and both these weeds were sent to the Government Agricultural Chemist for analysis. In this is given a brief botanical description of each of these weeds along with the chemical analysis as it was done by the Chemist.

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