Management of Wild Onion (Asphodelus tenuifolius Cav.) in Chickpea Crop at District Karak
Management of Wild Onion (Asphodelus tenuifolius Cav.) in Chickpea Crop at District Karak
Imtiaz Khan1*, Abdullah1, Muhammad Ibrahim1, Muhammad Ishfaq Khan1, Saima Hashim1, Shomayela Afzal2 and Khalid Nawab3
ABSTRACT
The study aims to investigate the management of noxious weed (Asphodelus tenuifolius Cav.) in chickpea growing areas of District Karak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Pakistan. A Randomized Complete Block (RCB) design with three replicates and various weed management practices were implemented. The treatments include; different herbicides (Pendimethalin, dual gold and fenxaprop-p-ethyl), mulches (Black polythene, white polythene and available weed biomass) and allelopathic weed extracts (Asphodelus tenuifolius Cav., Convolvulus arvensis L. and Lathyrus sp.) compared with control treatment. The study parameters include; weed density (m-2) before and after application, fresh and dry weight (m-2) of A. tenuifolius Cav., plant height (cm), number of nodes and branches plant-1, leaf area index (LAI), number of pods plant-1, number of grains pod-1, 500 seed weight (g), biological yield (kgha-1), grain yield (kgha-1) and cost benefit ratio (%).The data analysis revealed that the herbicide Pendimethalin showed the lowest A. tenuifolius Cav. density (6.10 m-2), fresh weight (1.30 kgm-2) and dry weight (0.43 kgm-2) , while the control plots had the highest density, fresh weight and dry weight of A. tenuifolius Cav. Data regarding chickpea parameters, Pendimethalin showed the maximum plant height (46.66 cm), number of nodes (32.33 plant-1), number of branches (10.33 plant-1), leaf area index (1.85), number of pods (31.66 plant-1, number of grains (2.00 pod-1), 500 seed weight (165.46 g), biological yield (4532.9 kgha-1), grains yield (1438.2 kgha-1), and cost benefit ratio (1:3.1). Whereas, the lowest values for these parameters were observed in the control plots. Based on the results, it can be concluded that Pendimethalin herbicide was the most effective in controlling A. tenuifolius Cav. that has significantly increased the yield and yield components of chickpea. Fenoxaprop-p-ethyl also showed positive effects on weed control and chickpea yield, although to a lesser extent than Pendimethalin. The study highlights the importance of using appropriate weed control methods to enhance crop productivity and reduce weed competition in chickpea cultivation. However, it is essential to consider factors like herbicide resistance, environmental impacts, and sustainability while formulating weed management strategies in agricultural practices. Further research may be needed to optimize the application of different treatments and to explore additional weed management techniques to maintain effective weed control in the long term.
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