Weeds are plants growing at undesirable locations. Cassia Tora is a plant commonly seen in countries such as India, Bhutan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Nepal. Classified as weed, it grows and spreads rapidly over the farms and available spaces.
Most weeds grow spontaneously while they are undesirable for farms which are meant for cultivating some specific species of plants. They add to the troubles of farmers who want to grow specific crops on their farms.
Reasons why weeds should be removed
It becomes important to remove the weeds from the farms for the following reasons:
- Opportunity Cost
Weeds are a threat to the growth of agriculturally productive crops and other useful plants. They spread widely, occupying significant portions of the farm which could otherwise have been used for growing different varieties of useful vegetation.
- Loss of Soil Fertility
Weeds make the soil less fertile as they consume essential nutrients from it. Thus, while most of the weeds don’t give any value in the market, the soil has to be additionally compensated for the lost nutrients. It further takes time to prepare such soil for a good yield.
- Hassles in Removal
Removing weeds to accommodate essential plants becomes a difficult and costly process.
It becomes very difficult to remove weeds as they keep growing over and over again on the same spaces. Farmers often have to spend a lot of time and money to get these weeds removed and have to face the opportunity cost of loss of agricultural yield, meanwhile.
A Weed That is Beneficial
Cassia Tora is classified as a beneficial weed as it has wide utility in the herbal medicine industry. Cassia tora plant is processed and used in powdered form for curing skin diseases and different liver, kidney and intestines related ailments. It is a significant component of Ayurvedic medicines. So, depending on the context, the weeds are classified so, while these could otherwise be beneficial plants for some other use.
Cassia Tora as Weed Remover
There is another famous variety of weed known as Parthenium hysterophorus. It causes disastrous effects on the fields where it grows. It can also cause skin as well as respiratory ailments. This weed is difficult to get rid of. Cassia Tora has remarkable uses in biologically inhibiting the growth of this weed. For this reason, Cassia Tora is termed as a natural weed remover. The water extracts of Cassia Tora have allelochemicals which affect germination of the seeds of some other varieties of weeds. Thus, while it is otherwise very difficult to get rid of weeds like Parthenium Hysterophorus, Cassia Tora extracts are efficient as a growth inhibitor and thus help in its removal.
Other Benefits
This is not all, Cassia Tora has greater significance in the agriculture industry as well. Since it is a powerful weed, and it can grow easily and rapidly, it can also be used to replace other weeds. Once it starts growing, it spreads to all the adjacent spaces and prevents other weeds from growing. Cassia Tora is useful in many ways, and so, the yield can bring profits to the farmer in multiple ways.
Conclusion
Cassia Tora is useful in many ways. While its use in medicines is well known, it has scientific applications in agriculture as well. Ironically, while itself is called a weed, it helps farmers in getting rid of other, highly parasitic weeds. Thus, this weed remover is a boon for agriculture.