Читать книгу Cucurbits - James R. Myers - Страница 27

Many domesticated species can become troublesome weeds, particularly in agriculture and elsewhere. Feral populations of cucurbit crops occur along roadways, railroad tracks, stream banks, settlements and waste areas in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and even islands in the Pacific. Particularly widespread and persistent are weedy forms of bitter gourd, watermelon, citron and species of Cucumis. Also common are escapes of species of Cucurbita and Luffa, ivy gourd, colocynth, bottle gourd, squirting cucumber and red hailstone (Thladiantha dubia).

Cotton fields in southern Asia and southeastern USA are plagued with weedy plants of Queen Anne’s pocket melon (Cucumis melo var. dudaim) and Texas gourd (Cucurbita pepo ssp. texana). The gourd problem has affected soybean and cotton production in Mississippi, Louisana, Arkansas and Texas.

West Indian gherkin (Cucumis anguria) is reportedly a pest in sugar cane and peanut fields in Australia. This species also grows wild in many areas of the New World, including Brazil and various Caribbean islands. It is not native to the New World; rather, it escaped from cultivation, apparently after being introduced with the African slave trade.

Commercial seed trade has been another disperser of weeds. During the 19th century, species of Old World bryony (Bryonia spp.) were sold in the USA as ornamentals and sometimes escaped. Similarly, wild cucumber (Echinocystis), a native of North America, has escaped from European gardens.