• Latin name
• Family
• Common name(s)
• Synonym(s)
• Geographical distribution
• Morphology
• Biology and ecology
• Agricultural importance
• Management
• Selected references
• Contributors

Melochia corchorifolia

Melochia corchorifolia is an erect or spreading, branched herb with white, pink, or pale purple flowers (IRRI).

Latin name

Melochia corchorifolia L.

Family

Sterculiaceae 

Common name(s)

Wire bush and redweed

Synonym(s)

Melochia concatenata L.; M. supina L.; Visenia corchorifolia (L.) Spreng.; Riedlea corchorifolia (L.) DC.; R. supine (L.) DC. 

Geographical distribution

South and Southeast Asia: Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Rest of the world: Australia, Africa, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and United States (Louisiana). 

Morphology

Erect or spreading, branched, up to 130—cm—high, perennial or annual herb.

Stem: cylindrical with tough stringy bark and with scattered star-like hairs.

Leaf: simple, with 2—3—cm petiole, alternately arranged; blades oblong to ovate, 3—8—cm—long with saw-toothed margins.

Inflorescence: terminal head or borne on leaf axils; flowers crowded and intermixed with linear bracteoles; petals white, pink, or pale purple, obovate, about 7—mm—long.

Fruit: depressed globose capsule, 4—5—mm in diameter with slightly beard-like hairs.

Seed: grayish brown with black spots, obovoid, about 2.5—mm—long. 

Biology and ecology

Weed of dryland field crops, dry-seeded lowland rice, and some plantation crops.

Flowers year-round; propagates by seed.

Agricultural importance

Can cause serious yield loss in rice: up to 70% yield loss recorded in the Philippines. It is an alternate host of nematodes Meloidogyne acrita, M. incognita, and M. javanica. 

Management

Cultural control: hand weeding or hoeing during the seedling stage to remove the weed.

Chemical control: postemergence application of MCPA or 2,4-D in rice. 

Selected references

Galinato MI, Moody K, Piggin CM. 1999. Upland rice weeds of South and Southeast Asia. Manila (Philippines): International Rice Research Institute. 156 p.

Moody K. 1989. Weeds reported in rice in South and Southeast Asia. Manila (Philippines): International Rice Research Institute. 442 p.

Moody K, Munroe CR, Lubigan RT, Paller Jr. EC. 1984. Major weeds of the Philippines. Weed Science Society of the Philippines. College, Laguna (Philippines): University of the Philippines at Los Baños. 328 p.

Pancho JV, Obien SR. 1995. Manual of ricefield weeds in the Philippines. Muñoz, Nueva Ecija (Philippines): Philippine Rice Research Institute. 543 p.

Soerjani M, Kostermans AJGH, Tjitrosoepomo G. 1987. Weeds of rice in Indonesia. Jakarta (Indonesia): Balai Pustaka. 716 p.

Contributors

JLA Catindig, RT Lubigan, and DE Johnson