Impact of Sesbania pachycarpa dc. (Fabaceae) in Millet Culture [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br. (Poaceae)] in Eastern Southeast Niger

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American Journal of Plant Sciences, 2025, 16(1), 146-154
https://www.scirp.org/journal/ajps
ISSN Online: 2158-2750
ISSN Print: 2158-2742
DOI:
10.4236/ajps.2025.161013 Jan. 30, 2025 146
American Journal of Plant Sciences
Impact of Sesbania pachycarpa dc. (Fabaceae)
in Millet Culture [Pennisetum glaucum
(L.) R. Br. (Poaceae)] in Eastern
Southeast Niger
Mahamane Adamou*, Toudou Daouda Abdoul Karim, Abdourazak Alio Moussa,
Adamou Ibrahim Maman Laouali, Toudou Abdoul Karim, Adamou Aboubacar Kolafane,
Inoussa Maman Maarouhi, Douma Soumana, Bakasso Yacoubou, Mahamane Ali
Laboratoire GeVaBioS, Département de Biologie, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université Abdou Moumouni de Niamey,
Niamey, Niger
Abstract
Millet [
Pennisetum glaucum
(L.) R. Br. (Poaceae)] is one of the most widely
consumed crops in Niger. Its production, despite the efforts of farmers, is con-
fronted with weed problems, in particular
Sesbania pachycarpa
DC. (Fabaceae).
The aim of the present study in this area is to assess the impact of
Sesbania pach-
ycarpa
on millet growth and yield. To achieve this objective, a completely ran-
domized Fisher block design of twenty-
four elementary plots was set up with
four replications. The data collected were millet plant heights and plot yields.
The data collected were subjected to analysis of variance and Duncan’
s test at
the 5% threshold for comparisons of mean heights and yields with the
control
kept clean from sowing to millet harvesting. The results showed the sensitivity
of millet plants to
Sesbania pachycarpa
. The results revealed that the threshold
density for damage could be estimated at 6
Sesbania pachycarpa
plants/m2
and
the critical interference period at the fourth week after sowing. This study
showed that the presence of
Sesbania pachycarpa
influences millet yield. Indeed,
the best yields were obtained in plots without
Sesbania pachycarpa
. Millet yield
decreased with increasing
Sesbania pachycarpa
density. The average percentage
yield reduction was 36.79%, with a minimum of 21.25% and a maximum of 80%.
The findings of this study complete the efforts of developing weed control tech-
niques in pearl millet fields densely populated with
Sesbania pachycarpa
.
Keywords
Impact,
Sesbania pachycarpa
, Yield, Millet, Niger
How to cite this paper:
Adamou, M.,
Karim,
T
.D.A., Moussa, A.A., Laouali, A.I.M.,
Karim,
T
.A., Kolafane, A.A., Maarouhi, I.M.,
Soumana,
D
., Yacoubou, B. and Ali, M. (2025)
Impact of
Sesbania pachycarpa
dc. (Fabaceae) in Millet
Culture [
Pennisetum glaucum
(L.) R. Br. (Po-
aceae)] in Eastern Southeast Niger
.
Am
erican
Journal of Plant Sciences
,
16
, 146-154.
https://doi.org/10.4236/ajps.2025.161013
Received:
September 19, 2024
Accepted:
January 27, 2025
Published:
January 30, 2025
Copyright © 20
25 by author(s) and
Scientific
Research Publishing Inc.
This work is
licensed under the Creative
Commons Attribution International
License (CC BY
4.0).
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Open Access

M. Adamou et al.
DOI:
10.4236/ajps.2025.161013 147
American Journal of Plant Sciences
1. Introduction
Millet is the staple food of the Sahelian population. It is an essential foodstuff for
Niger [1]. Every year, millet is grown on almost 5 million hectares, with a produc-
tion of nearly 2 million tonnes [1]. Despite the efforts made by farmers, its pro-
duction still does not cover the needs of the population [2]. Millet production
constraints are climatic (climate variability and change); parasitic (blast and
Hel-
minthosporiosis
attacks); edaphic (reduced soil fertility); varietal (low-productiv-
ity cultivars) [3]. Among the constraints to millet production, weed control is one
of the most important. Improving food production goes hand in hand with effec-
tive control against weediness [4]. Through their proliferation, weeds compete
with desired crops, reducing the quantity and quality of agricultural produce [5].
Botanical families such as Poaceae, Cyperaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae contain nu-
merous crop weeds. Among the Fabaceae,
Cassia mimosoides
L.,
Cassia nigricans
Vahl,
Alysicarpus ovalifolius
(Schumach.) J. Léonard and
Indigofera astragalina
DC. are recognized as invasive plants harmful to crops [6]. Our study focused on
Sesbania pachycarpa
, a Fabaceae widespread in our crops and already reported by
researchers notably [7] as an invasive plant worldwide. In Niger, it has begun to
be increasingly present in food plots, and farmers are complaining of its aggres-
siveness, particularly in the millet-growing localities of Illéla and elsewhere in the
country. The
Sesbania
genus is widespread throughout Africa, from Senegal to
Ethiopia, from South Africa to Madagascar, and is represented by 51 species
worldwide [8]. However, research into the causes of the sudden and abrupt pro-
liferation of this weed in our food plots is rare or poorly disseminated. We, there-
fore, propose to carry out a study that will contribute to better management of
food plots weeded or infested by
Sesbania pachycarpa
.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Site and Materials
The study was carried out in the commune of Illéla. It covers an area of 2700 km2
and lies between the geographical coordinates 5˚14'38'' East longitude and
14˚27'43'' North latitude (Figure 1) [9]. The climate is Sahelo-Sudanian, semi-
arid, characterized by three main seasons: a cold, dry season from November to
February; a hot dry season from March to May; and a rainy season from June to
October. Average annual rainfall varies between 300 and 450 mm [10]. Agricul-
ture and livestock breeding are the main activities in the commune. These two
activities are supplemented by handicrafts, trade and fishing [9].
The plant material used consisted of the local “Guèreguera” millet variety and
Sesbania pachycarpa
seedlings, a crop weed. Sowing and weeding of the plots were
carried out manually using a hoe. Millet plants competed with
Sesbania pachy-
carpa
plants. Corn grain was weighed using a kitchen scale (Camry brand; sensi-
tivity model and 50 g - 20 kg spring). Statistical tests were carried out using R
software version 4.4.1.

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Figure 1. Location of the study in the Department of Illéla [9].
2.2. Experimental Design
Figure 2. Experimental design, (a) Overview; (b) Elementary diagram.
The experimental set-up is a completely randomized Fisher block consisting of
five treatments and one (1) control (kept clean from sowing to harvesting), with
four (4) replications (Figure 2). The surface area of the elementary plots measured
4 m2 (2 m × 2 m). The space between elementary plots in the same block was 1 m.
The distance between two blocks is 2 m (Figure 2(a)). Each elementary plot con-
sists of 2 crop lines, 1 m apart. Crop lines are spaced 50 cm apart. The cultivation
lines were located 50 cm from the plot boundary and comprised four bunches 40

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cm apart (Figure 2(b)). Five millet seedlings were selected per plot,
i.e.
40 millet
seedlings per elementary plot. Throughout the cultivation cycle, the plots were
maintained by regular weeding. Only
Sesbania pachycarpa
plants were retained,
to avoid competition from other weeds (Table 1).
Table 1. Definition of treatment characteristics.
Codes Number of
Sesbania pachycarpa
plants
around a pearl millet pocket
Density of
Sesbania pachycarpa
(number/m
2
)
TM 0 0
T1 1 8
T2 2 16
T3 3 24
T7 7 56
T10 10 80
TM: Control parcel; Numbers 1; 2; 3; 7 and 10 assigned to
Sesbania pachycarpa
and repre-
senting, respectively, the numbers of plants of
Sesbania pachycarpa
around a pocket of
pearl millet.
2.3. Data Collection and Analysis
Data collected included millet height, number of plants and plot weight. Dry ears
were harvested by hand from each elementary plot to assess millet performance.
Harvests were weighed on a plot-by-plot basis. This method was used to estimate
the average dry weight per plot and per hectare of millet, based on different
Ses-
bania pachycarpa
plant densities. The parameters observed (millet plant growth
and development) were used to calculate weekly millet plant heights and plot
grain mass of harvested ears. Means of weekly heights, number of plants and mil-
let weight were subjected to a one-factor repeated-measures analysis of variance
to assess their significance at the 5% level. They were then compared using Dun-
can’s test at the 5% significance level. Treatment averages were compared with the
control, which was kept clean throughout the crop cycle.
3. Results
3.1. Effect of Sesbania pachycarpa Plant Density on Millet Plant
Height Growth
Table 2. Comparison of average height of pearl millet plants at 7 days after sowing (DAS).
Treatments TM T1 T2 T3 T7 T10 Average S. D T. E
Average
Height (cm) 7.35 a 7.35 a 7.37 a 7.34 a 8.11 a 7.36 a 7.48 2.04 N. S
a: average followed by the same letter in a given column, are not significantly different according to the Duncan test at 5%;
S. D. standard deviation; T. E. treatment effect; N. s. not significant difference at probability 0.001.
The results of the analysis of variance and Duncan’s test at the 5% threshold

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revealed that there was no significant difference between the mean height of millet
plants in the control and those in the different treatments with p = 0.01 (Table 2).
All the millet plants had approximately the same height (7.48 cm) in the first week
after sowing.
On the other hand, the analysis of variance and Duncan’s test carried out on
the mean heights of millet plants in the fourth week showed a highly significant
difference between the mean heights of millet plants in the control and those in
the different treatments, with p = 0.001 (Table 3). The performance of the millet
plants is characterized by five classes of average heights. This analysis revealed
four homogeneous groups: a, b, bc and c. Group a comprises millet plants from
the TM control with an average height of 67 cm. Class b comprises millet plants
from treatments T1 and T2, with mean heights of 59.50 cm and 41.62 cm respec-
tively. Class bc represents millet plants from treatments T3 (35.25 cm) and T7 (32
cm). Class c represents the average height of millet plants in treatment T10 (29.75
cm). The best growth was obtained on plots kept clean (TM).
Table 3. Comparison of average height of pearl millet plants at 28 days after sowing (DAS).
Treatments TM T1 T2 T3 T7 T10 Average S. D T. E
Average
Height (cm) 67.00 a 59.50 b 41.62 b 35.25 bc 32.00 bc 29.75 c 44.19 13.68 ***
a. b. c: average followed by the same letter in a given column, are not significantly different according to the Duncan test at
5%; S. D. standard deviation; T. E. treatment effect; ***: highly significant difference at probability 0.001.
Finally, the analysis of variance and Duncan’s test on the average height of mil-
let plants at week 14 showed a highly significant difference between the average
heights of millet plants in the control and treatment plots, with p = 0.0001. The
height growth of millet plants in the treatment plots showed a slowdown com-
pared with the height growth of millet plants in the control. This analysis revealed
five classes of average millet plant height, namely a, b, c, cd and d. Class a illus-
trates the heights of millet plants in the TM control, averaging 282 cm. The aver-
age height of the millet plants in this class is the greatest of the heights of the millet
plants measured at week 14. Homogeneous classes b, c, cd and d represent the
average heights of millet plants in the treatments. The differences observed be-
tween plots are therefore due to the competitive effect of
Sesbania pachycarpa
.
Class b is characterized by the average height of millet plants in treatment T1, with
an average height of 220 cm. Class c contains the average heights (167 cm) of mil-
let plants in treatment T2. T3, reaching 123 cm and 115 cm respectively. Class cd
comprises the average heights of millet plants in treatments T2 and T7, 152 cm
and 143.37 cm respectively. Class d shows the average height (115.50 cm) of millet
plants in treatment T10. The average height of the millet plants was 7.48 cm in the
first week and 44.19 cm in the fourth week. This corresponds to 179.98 cm in the
fourteenth week. In addition, the millet plant heights of the TM control had the
highest value in each week’s ranking. T1 treatment millet plant heights were

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second highest in all rankings. Furthermore, analysis of variance of millet plant
heights shows that there is no significant difference between the four blocks of
experimental plots. As in the fourth week, the best growth was obtained on plots
kept clean (Table 4).
Table 4. Comparison of average height of pearl millet plants at 98 days after sowing (DAS).
Treatments TM T1 T2 T3 T7 T10 Average S. D T. E
Average
Height (cm) 282 a 220.00 b 16700.00 c 152.00 cd 143.37 cd 115.50 d 179.98 49.35 ***
a. b. c. cd. d: average followed by the same letter in a given column, are not significantly different according to the Duncan
test at 5%; S. D. standard deviation; T. E. treatment effect; ***: highly significant difference at probability 0.001.
3.2. Effect of Sesbania pachycarpa Plant Density on Millet Yield
Table 5. Comparison of average weights of pearl millet with respect to treatments.
Treatments TM T1 T2 T3 T7 T10 Average S. D T. E
Average
Weight (Kg/ha) 0.95 a 0.73 b 0.61 bc 0.55 c 0.48 c 0.15 d 0.58 0.19 ***
a. b. bc. c. d: average followed by the same letter in a given column, are not significantly different according to the Duncan
test at 5%; S. D. standard deviation; T. E. treatment effect; ***: highly significant difference at probability 0.001.
Table 6. Change in the average weight of pearl millet with different treatments in Kg/ha.
Treatments TM T1 T2 T3 T7 T10 Average S. D T. E
Average
Weight (Kg/ha) 2375 843.70 1537.50 1387.50 1212.50 375.00 1455.20 478.12 ***
a. b. bc. c. d: average followed by the same letter in a given column, are not significantly different according to the Duncan
test at 5%; S. D. standard deviation; T. E. treatment effect; ***: highly significant difference at probability 0.001.
Table 5 presents the results of the variance analysis and Duncan’s test at the 5%
threshold carried out on the grain masses of the millet plants obtained. These re-
sults showed a highly significant difference with p = 0.01. The grain masses of the
millet plants in the treatments showed a deficit compared with the grain masses
of the millet plants in the control kept clean throughout the millet crop cycle. This
analysis revealed five homogeneous groups (a, b, bc, c and d). Group a shows the
average yield of millet plants from the TM control. The grain weight obtained was
2375 kg/ha (Table 6). Group b includes the yield of millet plants from treatment
T1, with an average grain mass of 1843.70 Kg/ha. Group bc refers to the yield of
millet plants from treatment T2, which recorded 1537.50 Kg/ha. Group c com-
prises the average millet yields of treatments T3 (1387.50 kg/ha) and T7 (1212.50
kg/ha). Group d shows the yield of millet plants from treatment T10 (375 kg/ha).
The difference in average millet yield between the control and treatments is
1103.76 kg/ha. The difference in average millet yield between the control and T1
treatment is 531.30 kg/ha, and that between the control and T10 treatment is 2000

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kg/ha. Yield was higher in the control plots without weeds. Yield decreased with
increasing
Sesbania pachycarpa
density.
3.3. Change in Number of Millet Plants as a Function of Sesbania
pachycarpa Density
Table 7 below presents the results of the analysis of variance and Duncan’s test at
the 5% threshold carried out on the number of millet plants as a function of
Ses-
bania pachycarpa
density. This analysis shows that the treatment effect is signifi-
cant, with p-value = 0.0001. The number of millet plants in the TM control plots
(49.50 plants/m2) was virtually identical to that in the T1 treatment (47.75
plants/m2). Plots T2 recorded an average of 44.75 feet/m2 of millet at harvest. Plots
T3 (42.25 feet/m2), T7 (41 feet/m2) and T10 (40.75 feet/m2) had more or less the
same number of millet plants at harvest. The number of millet plants resulting
from tillering decreased from treatment T1 (47.75 plants/m2) to treatment T10
(40.75 plants/m2).
Table 7. Comparison of average numbers of millet plants in 98 DAS.
Treatments TM T1 T2 T3 T7 T10 Average S. D T. E
Number of
Millet plants 49.50 a 47.75 a 44.75 ab 42.25 b 41.00 b 40.75 b 15.58 14.44 ***
a. b. bc. cd. d: average followed by the same letter in a given column, are not significantly different according to the Duncan
test at 5%; S. D. standard deviation; T. E. treatment effect; ***: highly significant difference at probability 0.001.
4. Discussion
The study of the effect of
Sesbania pachycarpa
on the height growth of millet
plants revealed that there was no difference between the average height of millet
plants in control and those in the treatments during the first week. Being at a ju-
venile stage of the vegetative stage, the aggressive effect of
Sesbania pachycarpa
does not hinder the height growth of millet plants, and is bearable. These results
are in line with those achieved by [11] in weed control in bean cultivation in cen-
tral-eastern Côte d’Ivoire.
However, from the third week of cultivation, differences appear between the
average height of millet plants in the control and those of millet plants in the treat-
ments. These differences become increasingly important and are more pro-
nounced right up to harvest. This shows that the “Guèreguera” variety can with-
stand the competitive effect of
Sesbania pachycarpa
plants during the first three
weeks of cultivation.
The competitive effect increases as the stem branches out. Millet plants in treat-
ments T1 (2 plants/m2), T2 (4 plants/m2) and T3 (6 plants/m2) are tolerant right
up to harvest. Indeed, beyond 6 plants/m2, considered as the threshold density,
the period of interference of
Sesbania pachycarpa
plants on millet plants begins in
the third week. Nevertheless, [12] in central-eastern Côte d’Ivoire showed that the
interference period is 21 days after sowing for densities higher than 2 plants of

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Rottboellia cocchinchinensis
in maize cultivation. The difference observed could
be due to the nature of the crop, climatic and ecological conditions, the type of
experiment and the weed present.
Observation of the tillers reveals that their multiplication is not identical within
the different treatments. In fact, the lower the density of
Sesbania pachycarpa
plants, the greater the number of tillers produced. As
Sesbania pachycarpa
plants
in low densities are well-aerated and less bulky, there is little intra- and interspe-
cific competition. The competition exerted by
Sesbania pachycarpa
plants on the
local “Guèreguera” variety is more noticeable in terms of yield. This is illustrated
by the weight of the control, which far exceeds that of the treatments. In fact, the
greater the density of
Sesbania pachycarpa
plants, the lower the yield. This is in
line with observations by [13] on weed infestation in onion plantations in north-
eastern Benin. Our results on losses caused to millet production by
Sesbania pach-
ycarpa
plants are in line with the work of many authors, including [4] [11] [14]
[15], who have also worked in weed-infested crop environments.
5. Conclusions
This study enabled us to observe and understand the behaviour of
Sesbania pach-
ycarpa
on the local millet variety “Guèreguera”. Competition between
Sesbania
pachycarpa
and millet plants is noticeable after three weeks. The tolerant density
of
Sesbania pachycarpa
can be estimated at 6 plants/m2. Beyond this critical value,
competition between
Sesbania pachycarpa
plants and millet begins to appear after
the third week. The infesting power of
Sesbania pachycarpa
was most noticeable
in terms of millet yield losses. The average reduction in millet yield by
Sesbania
pachycarpa
was 53.52%, with a minimum of 22.37% for treatment T1 and a max-
imum of 84.2% for treatment T10. The local millet variety “Guèreguera” is sensi-
tive to competition from
Sesbania pachycarpa
.
The nuisance threshold density and interference period determined can serve
as a reference in order to make decisions with respect to the control of this weed,
at least until the fourth week of cultivation with respect to millet.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.
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