ABSTRACT:
Weeds have negative value in crop production but if we grow and manage them properly they can easily be converted to useful assets for mankind. Aim of this study is to make the society aware of medicinal values of many weeds which grow naturally, without any effort or outlay of money from the farmers, and to protect and propagate planned cultivation of such weeds This would make many highly useful medicinal plants freely available to the public while providing a source of an additional income to the farmers. The field survey was conducted in and around Abhanpur block of Raipur district (Chhattisgarh) during 2013-14.Ethno-botanical data were collected first-hand through enquiry, observation and interviews with villagerstribal people and their local traditional doctor known as Gothiya or Baiga. A group of elder people was taken to the fields and specimens of useful species were collected and identified. In all 68 plant species were collected. Out of these 39 species which are considered as weeds, are used as medicines by the inhabitants and traditional physicians in Chhattisgarh plains to cure several diseases, 16 species are used for edible purposes as vegetable/food. The rural and tribal peoples of the studied area used weeds in their daily life for example weeds like Amaranthus spinosus, A. viridis, Cassia tora, Celosia argentea, Chenopodium album, Cyamopsis tetragonoloba used for edible purposes by the villagers and Achyranthes aspera, Argemone meticana, Boerhaavia diffasa Calotropis procera, Celosia argentea, Cuscuta reflera, Cyprus rotundu, Eclipta prostrute, Euphorbia hirta, Ocimium americanum, Solanum nigrum and Tribullus terrestris are used for ethnomedicinal purposes. Thus, cultivation of carefully selected weed species as a mixed, inter or companion crop in agro and farm forestry conditions is feasible and needs to be pursued in selected pocket in an intensive manner.
Cite this article:
Singh, Harishankar and Patel (2016). Weeds in Agro-Ecological Zone of Chhattisgarh Plains: As a Source of Medicines for Human Health Care. Journal of Ravishankar University (Part-B: Science), 29(1), pp.119-120.