I did my Ph.D. under the supervision of Prof. Inderjit. The title of my Ph.D. thesis is, “Investigations on some agroecological aspects of Phalaris minor Retz.”.

Abstract of my Ph.D. Dissertation: A study on the agroecological aspects of Phalaris minor, a troublesome weed of wheat fields of northwestern India was undertaken. The significant findings include (i) rice straw influences the performance of P. minor and the efficacy of soil-applied herbicides, (ii) wheat straw adversely affect the nitrogen-fixing potential of cyanobacterial inoculum; (iii)  mixture of herbicides with different molecular targets provides better strategy of weed management; (iv) residual effects of herbicides and their effect on fallow crops and non-target beneficial organisms such as cyanobacteria should be examined (v) herbicides with PS II inhibition as a mode of action are comparatively more deleterious to growth and physiological characteristics of Anabaena fertilissima, a common cyanobacterium of rice soils, (vi) Phalaris minor performs better in the wheat fields compared to mustard or abandoned fields probably due to better availability of resources such as light, (vi) soilchemical characteristics are not influenced by the P. minor infestation. Results were analyzed to evaluate the causes of success of P. minor and its restriction to wheat fields. The present study points out the ways that could be considered to understand the performance of P. minor in the wheat fields and to design better weed management strategies.

Phalaris minor – field photographs

Publications

Journal articles

1. Kaushik S and Inderjit (2005) Effect of rice straw incorporation on phytotoxicity of isoxaflutole to an exotic weed Phalaris minor Retz. Plant and Soil, 277:35-40.
2. Kaur H, Inderjit and Kaushik S (2005) Cellular evidence of allelopathic interference of benzoic acid to mustard (Brassica juncea L.) seedling growth. Plant Physiology & Biochemistry, 43:77-81.
3. Kaushik S and Inderjit (2006) Phytotoxicity of selected herbicides to mung bean (Phaseolus aureus Roxb.). Environmental & Experimental Botany, 55:21-48.
4. Kaushik S and Inderjit (2006) Oryza sativa straw restricts Phalaris minor growth: allelochemicals or soil resource manipulation. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 43:557-563.
5. Kaushik S, Inderjit, Streibig JC and Cedergreen N (2006) Mixture toxicity of soil-applied herbicides with different molecular targets. Pest Management Science, 62:1092-1097.
6. Inderjit, Chapman D, Ranelletti M and Kaushik S (2006) Invasive marine algae: An ecological perspective. The Botanical review, 72:153-178.
7. Inderjit, Callaway RM and Kaushik S (2006) Time for international policies on biological invasions. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 4:67-68.
8. Inderjit and Kaushik, S. 2010. Effect of herbicides with different modes of action on physiological and cellular traits of Anabaena fertilissima. Paddy and Water Environment 8, 277-282.

Book chapters

1. Kaushik S, Blackshaw RE and Inderjit (2005) Ecology and management of the alien weed Phalaris minor. In: Invasive plants: Ecological and Agricultural Aspects. Edited by Inderjit. Birkhauser-Verlag AG, Basal, Switzerland, pp. 181-193.
2. Inderjit, Kaushik S (2009) Management of Phalaris minor, an exotic weed of cropland. In: Management of invasive weeds. Edited by Inderjit. Springer, New York, pp. 279-286.

Paper presented in the International Conference

1. “Rice straw: allelopathic potential and effect on herbicide efficacy” presented at XVII international Botanical Congress, Vienna, Austria, July 2005.