Title: Effect of tillage and weed control methods on weeds density and tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) productivity.
Abstract: Researchers have substantiated that efficient weeds control play key role in crop growth and development and total dry matter production. For sustainable improvement in crop yield and effective weeds control, long term investigations are needed to quantify the judicious use of resources. To evaluate the integration of tillage practices and weeds control methods in tomato production, an experiment was conducted at farmer field in District Charsadda of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Three tillage practices (Deep, conventional and reduced tillage) and five weeds control methods such as Plastic mulching, news paper, wheat straw and stone as mulch and hand weeding were used. A weed check treatment was included for comparison. Tillage practices have considerably affected weeds density, weed fresh and dry weight Deep tillage reduced weeds density by 11, 17 and 27% at 20, 40 and 60 days after sowing, respectively, as compared to reduced tillage . Likewise, 23, 11 and 17% increase was noted in tomato plant height, branches plant and fruit yield in deep tillage over reduced tillage . Regarding weeds control methods, hand weeding reduced weeds population followed by plastic mulching and stone mulching at 20, 40 and 60 days after sowing. Plant height and fruit yield of tomato was higher in hand weeding followed by plastic mulching as compared to weedy check . All weeds control methods effectively reduced weed density and hence improved tomato yield over weedy check. It is concluded that deep tillage in combination either with hand weeding or plastic mulching is recommended for effective weeds control and improving yield of tomato under agro-ecological conditions of District Charsadda, Pakistan.
Publication Year: 2015
Publication Date: 2015-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 1
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