Diversity, Species, and Plant Growth Regulator and Nutrient Content of Local Weeds in Tawaeli Sub-District, Palu City, Indonesia

Abstract

Each area has a variety and different types of weeds, the differences in each weed are caused by natural factors and human actions, including excessive pesticide spraying. This action can cause the chemical content, namely plant growth regulators and the nutrients in the weed plant to change and cause the quality of a soil to decrease. The research objective was to determine the level of diversity, species, and content of plant growth regulators and nutrient element measurements for local weeds. The research design was an exploration method in community agricultural land areas by recording the number of weeds found in agricultural land areas, trails, and irrigation edges in Tawaeli District, Palu City. Diversity analysis was using the exploration method, and the diversity index of medicinal plants was calculated using Shannon Wiener. The identification of weeds was carried out by UPT Herbarium (Tadulako University), plant growth regulators and nutrient content analysis were carried out using existing methods in the laboratory using local weed samples taken in the field. The results showed that there were 27 species of weeds grew on agricultural land in Tawaeli Sub-District, Palu City. These weed species belonging to 17 different plant families. Based on the category of diversity index, it was known that the biodiversity of weeds at the observation sites belongs to the low class (H' <1.00) and the medium class (H' >3.00). The conclusion was that in general, the high number of species and weed diversity were in the medium class H' category. Good nutrient content in weeds shows the potential of weeds as a source of important nutritional elements may benefit the growth and development of cultivated plants.