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Effect of Integrated Weed Management Practices on Weed Growth and Productivity of Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan)

Guriqbal Singh and H. K. Virk

  • Page No:  445 - 450
  • Published online: 07 Jun 2018
  • DOI : HTTPS://DOI.ORG/10.23910/IJBSM/2018.9.3.1812c

  • Abstract
  •  singhguriqbal@pau.edu

Field experiments were conducted for three years (2009–2011) on a loamy sand soil to study the effect of integrated weed management practices on weed growth and productivity of pigeonpea. Two hand weedings [25 and 50 days after sowing (DAS)] and pendimethalin (0.45 or 0.75 kg ha-1) in integrated with hand weeding (50 DAS) or directed spray of paraquat [0.48 kg ha-1 at 6 or 8 weeks after sowing (WAS)] on weeds between the crop rows using a hood resulted in higher weed control efficiency and grain yield. Uncontrolled weeds caused 14.6–123.8% reduction in pigeonpea grain yield in different years. All the treatments of herbicides viz. pendimethalin (0.45 or 0.75 kg ha-1) as pre-emergence, paraquat (0.48 kg  ha-1) and imazethapyr (75 g ha-1) as post-emergence, applied either alone or in integration significantly reduced dry weight of weeds at 80 DAS  and at harvest compared to weedy check. Application of pendimethalin @ 0.75 kg ha-1 followed by hand weeding (50 DAS) and two hand weedings (25+50 DAS) recorded the highest weed control efficiency. In the treatment where crop sown in rows 67.5 cm apart, interculture using a tractor provided effective weed control and high grain yield. Application of pendimethalin (0.45 or 0.75 kg ha-1) as pre-emergence and tank mix application of imazethapyr (75 g ha-1) +quizalofop ethyl (50 g ha-1) as post-emergence either alone or in integration with hand weeding at 50 DAS also reduced the dry weight of weeds and increased the grain yield.

Keywords :   Imazethapyr, paraquat, pigeonpea, pendimethalin, weed control efficiency

  • Introduction

    Pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.], an important pulse crop of India, being a kharif season crop, is highly infested with grassy and broad leaved weeds. Timely weed control is essential for realization of yield potential of this crop (Suman et al., 2017). Due to wider row spacing and initial slow growth of pigeonpea, weeds pose a major problem to its productivity (Rajesh et al., 2015; Khazi et al., 2017). The crop canopy does not cover the inter row space during initial phase of growth and weeds compete with the crop plants for available moisture, nutrients and light and thus the crop suffers from early weed infestation. Therefore, it is necessary to keep the crop weed-free during the early growth period (4-6 weeks). In pigeonpea, weeds cause yield reduction up to 30-80% (Talnikar et al., 2008; Singh and Sekhon, 2013). Manual weeding and mechanical methods of weed control (Singh et al., 2010a) are quite effective, but they are costly and time consuming. Moreover, due to frequent rains it becomes difficult to do hand weeding (HW) at proper time. Therefore, there is a need to find out some other chemical and cultural weed management options which are efficient, less labour-intensive and less costly. The chemical weed control measures appear more convenient, less time consuming and less expensive. Only pre-emergence herbicides are available for weed control in pigeonpea. Application of pendimethalin as pre-emergence has been found promising in controlling weeds and improving grain yield (Reddy et al., 2007; Singh et al., 2010a, 2010b). Integrated use of pre- and post-emergence herbicides provides effective control of weeds and high grain yield of pigeonpea (Singh et al., 2016).  However, pigeonpea is a long-duration crop and after about a month of pendimethalin application, weeds may pose a problem. Furthermore, weeds emerge in different flushes due to rainy season. Therefore, there was a need to study the effect of post-emergence herbicides and integrated weed management practices on growth of weeds as well as growth and productivity of pigeonpea.


  • Materials and Methods

    2.1.  Site characterization

    Field experiments were conducted for three years during kharif (rainy) season from 2009 to 2011 at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab. The soil of the experimental site was loamy sand, having pH 7.8 and was low in organic carbon and available nitrogen and medium in available phosphorus and potash.

    2.2.  Crop husbandry

    The crop was raised as per the details given in Table 1. After pre-sowing irrigation, at optimum soil moisture, the field was ploughed twice followed by planking. The crop was irrigated as per the need. The crop was raised with recommended package of practices (PAU, 2009).


    2.3.  Treatments

    Experiment 1 was conducted during 2009 and 2010 with sixteen treatments, as listed in Table 2, in randomized complete block design. Experiment 2 was conducted during 2010 and 2011 with eight treatments, as listed in Table 3, in factorial randomized complete block design. Experiment 3 was conducted during 2011 with twelve treatments, as listed in Table 4, in randomized complete block design. In the case of two hand weedings (HW), weeds were removed manually with a khurpa at 25 and 50 DAS. In Experiment 3, in interculture treatments, weeds were controlled mechanically using a tractor in case of 67.5 cm row spacing whereas in 50 cm row spacing manual weeding was done. In unweeded check plots, weeds were allowed to grow during the whole crop growing season. In case of pendimethalin treatments, the herbicide was sprayed at rates as per the treatment, on the same day or one day after sowing using knapsack sprayer fitted with flood jet nozzle using 500 litres of water ha-1. In case of paraquat treatments, the herbicide was sprayed at different timings as per the treatment as directed spray between the rows using 500 litres of water ha-1 and using a plastic hood to avoid drift on the crop plants while spraying. Paraquat is a broad spectrum herbicide and kills all green matter. Therefore, care was taken that the herbicidal solution could not fall on pigeonpea plants. Imazethapyr was sprayed 15–20 DAS. However, in Experiment 3, imazethapyr with or without tank mix application with quizalopfop ethyl, was applied at 10–15 DAS. 

    2.4. Observations recorded

     Dry matter of weeds was recorded 80 DAS using a quadrate measuring 50 × 50 cm2 and at harvest on plot basis after sun-drying for about 7 days and then converted into kg ha-1. Weed control efficiency (WCE) was calculated using the following formula:


    At maturity, data on plant height, branches plant-1 and pods plant-1 were recorded from randomly selected five plants from each plot, and seeds pod-1 from randomly selected 20 pods. Biological yield and grain yield data were recorded on whole plot basis and then converted into kg ha-1. From the produce of each plot 100 seeds were taken for 100-seed weight data.

    2.4.  Statistical analysis

    All data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) as per the standard procedure. Whenever ‘F’ ratio was found significant, critical difference (CD) value was calculated at p=0.05 to compare the treatment means.


  • Results and Discussion

    3.1. Weeds

    The predominant weed species present in the experimental site were Commelina benghalensis (Day flower), Trianthema portulacastrum (Horse purslane), Euphorbia hirta (Snake weed), Digitaria spp. (Crab grass), Dactyloctenium aegyptiacum (Crow foot grass) and Cyperus rotundus (Nut grass). Paraquat controlled all weed species whereas pendimethalin controlled all other weed species except Commelina benghalensis and Cyperus rotundus. Imazethapyr controlled sedges, grassy weeds and broadleaf weeds whereas quizalofop ethyl controlled only grassy weeds.

    In Experiment 1, unweeded control recorded the highest dry matter of weeds, which was reduced drastically by all other treatments (Table 2). All the treatments of herbicides i.e. pendimethalin, paraquat and imazethapyr, applied alone


    or in integration, significantly reduced dry weight of weeds at harvest compared to weedy check. Pendimethalin 0.75 kg ha-1+HW at 50 DAS significantly reduced the dry weight of weeds which was, however, at par with all treatments except pendimethalin 0.45 kg ha-1. Padmaja et al. (2013) also reported reduction in the population as well as dry weight of weeds in integration of pendimethalin with paraquat 0.48 kg ha-1 applied at 42 DAS. Pendimethalin @ 0.75 kg  ha-1+HW recorded the highest weed control efficiency due to reduction in dry weight of weeds. In pigeonpea, effective weed control has been reported with integrated use of pendimethalin and hand weeding (Rao et al., 2003; Shinde et al., 2003; Tomar et al., 2004; Singh et al., 2010b; Singh and Sekhon, 2013).

    In Experiment 2, pigeonpea sown at row spacing of 67.5 cm recorded significantly lower dry weight of weeds than 50 cm row spacing which, might be due to more crop growth in 67.5 cm row spacing owing to more branches and resulted in more smothering effect on weeds (Table 3). Pendimethalin 0.45 kg ha-1+hand weeding 6 weeks after sowing and two hand weedings/interculture recorded significantly lesser dry weight of weeds than the other treatments.

    In Experiment 3, application of pre- and post-emergence herbicides in combination with hand weeding at 50 DAS recorded significantly lower dry weight of weeds than weedy check (Table 4). Two hand weedings recorded the highest weed control efficiency followed by pendimethalin 0.75 kg ha-1 (PE)+hand weeding (HW) at 50 DAS and tank mix application of imazethapyr 75 g ha-1+quizalofop ethyl 50 g ha-1 (10-15 DAS)+HW at 50 DAS. Singh et al. (2010a) reported that application of imazethapyr @ 75 g ha-1+Quizalofop ethyl @ 50 g ha-1 on 15 DAS+one hand weeding on 50 DAS/intercultivation recorded lowest dry weight of weeds.


    3.2. Pigeonpea

    In Experiment 1, plant height and branches plant-1 were recorded higher in two hand weedings and weed free than other treatments (Table 5). The pods plant-1 was recorded


    highest in weed free followed by pendimethalin 0.75 kg ha-1 +HW and two HW. Seeds pod-1 and 100-seed weight were not influenced significantly. Biological yield and grain yield of pigeonpea were significantly influenced by different weed control treatments (Table 6). Weed free treatment recorded significantly higher biological yield than all other treatments. Weed free recorded the highest grain yield, however, it was statistically at par with two HW, pendimethalin @ 0.45 kg ha-1+paraquat 0.48 kg ha-1 (6 WAS), pendimethalin @ 0.45 kg ha-1+paraquat 0.48 kg ha-1 (8 WAS), pendimethalin @ 0.45 kg ha-1+paraquat 0.48 kg ha-1 (10 WAS) and  pendimethalin @ 0.75 kg ha-1+HW at 50 DAS. It was due to reduced weed dry matter as compared to weedy check (Table 2). Harvest index was statistically similar in all the treatments. There was no phytotoxic effect of pre- and post-emergence herbicides on pigeonpea.  Padmaja et al. (2013) also reported higher grain yield with application of pendimethalin followed by paraquat at 42 DAS.


    In Experiment 2, row spacing did not influence plant height, branches plant-1 (Table 3), pods plant-1, seeds pod-1, 100-seed, biological yield, grain yield and harvest index significantly (Table 7). The plant height, branches plant-1 (Table 3), pods plant-1, 100-seed weight and biological yield (Table 7) were higher under pendimethalin 0.45 kg ha-1+hand weeding 6


    WAS and two hand weedings/interculture. Pendimethalin 0.45 kg ha-1+hand weeding 6 WAS and two hand weedings/interculture recorded higher grain yield than the other treatments due to more number of pods plant-1 (Table 7) and less competition caused by weeds (Table 3). Similar results were also reported by Singh et al. (2010a). In the case of the crop sown in 67.5 cm apart rows, mechanical interculture provided as good grain yield as with hand weeding in 50 cm apart rows (Table 8), thereby providing another option of mechanical weed control especially under labour scarcity situations.


    In Experiment 3, plant height, branches plant-1 (Table 4), pods plant-1, biological yield and grain yield (Table 9) were reduced significantly in weedy check than the other treatments. Weed free treatment recorded highest grain yield which was, however, at par with pendimethalin 0.75 kg ha-1+HW 50 DAS. Imazethapyr 75 g ha-1 (10-15 DAS)+HW 50 DAS, tank mix application of imazethapyr 75 g ha-1+quizalofop ethyl 50 g ha-1 (10-15 DAS)+HW 50 DAS, pendimethalin  0.45 kg ha-1+HW 6-7 WAS and HW 25+50 DAS were the other promising treatments. Tank mix application of   imazethapyr 75 g ha-1+quizalofop ethyl 50 g ha-1 had no antagonistic effect. Post-emergence application of imazethapyr has been found safe to soybean (Ram et al., 2013), mungbean (Singh et al., 2014a; Singh et al., 2015), blackgram (Aggarwal et al., 2014) whereas in lentil it caused phytotoxity initially but later on the crop recovered (Singh et al., 2014b).


  • Conclusion

    Integrated use of (i) pre-emergence herbicide (pendimethalin) followed by post-emergence herbicide (paraquat), (ii) pre-emergence herbicide (pendimethalin) followed by hand weeding, and (iii) post-emergence herbicides (imazethapyr and imazethapyr+quizalofop ethyl) followed by hand weeding effectively control the weeds and improve the grain yield of pigeonpea. In case the pigeonpea crop sown in 67.5 cm apart rows, mechanical interculture can be done to control weeds.


  • Acknowledgement

    The authors are thankful to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi for providing funding and Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana for providing facilities for conducting these trials.


  • Reference
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    Ram, H., Singh, G., Aggarwal, N., Buttar, G.S., Singh, O., 2013. Standardization of rate and time of application of imazethapyr weedicide in soybean. Indian Journal of Plant Protection 41, 33–37.

    Rao, M.M., Ramalakshmi, D., Khan, M.M., Sree, S.P., Reddy, M.V., 2003. Effect of integrated weed management in post-rainy season pigeonpea+mungbean intercropping system in vertisols. Indian Journal of Pulses Research 16, 112–115.

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    Singh, G., Aggarwal, N., Ram, H., 2010a. Effect of row spacing and weed management practices on weeds, growth and yield of pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.]. Indian Journal of Weed Science 42, 241–243.

    Singh, G., Aggarwal, N., Ram, H., 2014a. Efficacy of post-emergence herbicide imazethapyr for weed management in different mungbean (Vigna radiata) cultivars. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 84, 540–543.

    Singh, G., Kaur, H., Aggarwal, N., Sharma, P., 2015. Effect of herbicides on weeds growth and yield of greengram. Indian Journal of Weed Science47, 38–42.

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Cite

1.
Singh G, Virk HK. Effect of Integrated Weed Management Practices on Weed Growth and Productivity of Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) IJBSM [Internet]. 07Jun.2018[cited 8Feb.2022];9(1):445-450. Available from: http://www.pphouse.org/ijbsm-article-details.php?article=1160

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