Several anatomical characteristics of leaf blade, related to weed control techniques and/or herbicidal activity, have been studied using 23 weed species and 3 crops of rice, wheat, and barley. The results are as follows
1) Based on information already reported by DOWNTON, AKITA, and TAKEDA, whether or not chloro-plasts and starch grains exist in vascular bundle sheath cells (BSC) was examined, and as the result weed species employed in this experiment could be divided into two groups of photosynthesis, i. e. nonchlorophylous C
3 and chlorophylous C
4 plants in the pathways of CO
2 fixation.
2) Out of 26 species used, six species of
Panicoideae, three species of
Eragrostoideae, two species of
Cyperaceae and
Portulaca oleracea were considered to belong to the C
4 plant and the other 14 to the C
3 plant. There was a distinct difference in the number and arrangement of vascular bundle between two group plants. The C
4 plant, for instance, has narrower space between neighboring vascular bundles. That accounts for much vascular bundles distributed in the leaf blade of the C
4 plant.
3) It is said that the surface structure of leaf blade is related to adherence of chemicals when applied on foliage. Corrugation Index (b/a) was obtained from measuring lengths of corrugation line (b) and its bottom one (a) in the cross section of leaf blade, as shown in Fig. 2. This index varied considerably with weed species, showing higher values in
Gramineae and
Cyperaceae than in broadleaved weeds. However, one kind of broadleaved weeds,
Marsilea quadrifolia, indicated a higher index as an exception. Out of
Gramineae, the highest was found in
Leptochloa chinensis. This fact suggests us that this grass weed may not be controlled by the same procedure as barnyardgrass.
4) Thickening of external membrane in epidermis that may be a factor concerning penetration of chemicals into mesophyll has been observed. Thicker membranes were in
Gramineae and
Cyperaceae than in broadleaved weeds. Further, out of
Gramineae species, rice (
Oryza sativa), goosegrass (
Eleusine indica), and green foxtail (
Setaria viridis) have thicker membrane than the others.
5) Air cavity in the mesophyll of leaf blade varied with weed species. Generally speaking, aquatic weeds such as
Sagittaria pygmea and
Potamogeton distinctus had large cavity, which may make less cell-by-cell migration of chemicals in mesophyll. The cavities of the above two weeds were 50.7 and 34.7 percent of total leaf area on the average, respectively.
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