Kyllinga brevifolia (green kyllinga)

C. brevifolius is a small perennial weed with short or widely creeping rhizomes, flourishing in moist or wet situations during hot and rainy months from April/May to September/October. It is a prominent weed of rice fields in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. It is a weed of rice and other rainy season crops including maize, sugarcane, vegetables and orchards of mangoes, guavas, citrus and Zizyphus, and may compete to some extent for nutrients. There are no studies on the effect of C. brevifolius alone but it is not thought to cause serious harm.C. brevifolius strongly resembles rice plants in its vegetative condition. It does offer some competition to rice crop for nutrients and space during the early growth period but it is one of the several weeds of rice and yield loss cannot correctly be attributed to C. brevifolius alone. Maximum yield loss in rice in northern India due to weeds is estimated at 5-10%, where weed growth is uncontrolled.C. brevifolius is not known to serve as a host for any major organism which adversely affects rice. Physoderma kyllingiae, which attacks C. brevifolius, does not affect rice.C. brevifolius possesses long creeping rhizomes bearing several upright shoots/stems in linear succession and makes good pasture when young as it always grows extensively in tufts. It is sometimes used as a fodder for cattle and horses. Its food value is satisfactory, but the yield is scanty (Kern, 1974).