Determination of Prevalence and Density of Weed Species and Their Distribution According to Ecological Parameters in Banana (Musa cavendishii Lam. Ex. Payton) Orchards in Antalya Province

The survey study was conducted in Alanya and Gazipa？a districts of Antalya province in order to determine the frequency and density of weed species in banana orchards. Another aim of the study was to determine the ecological factors effect distribution of the weed species. For this purpose, surveys were conducted in 120 different locations represent research area in two different periods (spring and autumn in 2016). During the surveys, 67 weed species belonging to 22 families, including 1 pteridophyta, 17 monocotyledonous and 49 dicotyledonous were recorded. The most common species according to observation frequency rate were; Portulaca oleracea L. (57.50%), Amaranthus albus L. (55%), Amaranthus retroflexus L. (46.67%), Oxalis corniculata L. (36.67%) and Cyperus rotundus L. (29,17%). General density was 27.43 pcs/m2. The observed weed species were correlated with soil properties of the banana orchards through using SPSS and CANOCO statistical programs. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were used to correlate weed species with soil properties. As a result of the analyzes, CCA explained 81% of the variation in weed distribution in the region and provided insights that some other factors rather than soil properties also influenced the distribution of weed species in the region