Weed Dynamics and yield of Chickpea (Cicer Arietinum L.) as influenced by Seed rate, Row Spacing and Weed Management

Abstract

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) IS the most important pulse crop in India. India alone has nearly 75% of the world acreage and production of Chickpea. The area under Chickpea in India IS 22.23 m ha with the productJon of 13.11 m t and productivity of 600-650 kg ha 1 Gram is highly sens1tive to weed compebtion and yield loss due to weeds range from 25 to 40 percent. A field expenment on different method of weed control was conducted m Chickpea dunng rabi seasons of 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 at Crop Research Center of S V B.P Umvers1ty of Agriculture & Tech. Meerut. The expenment consisted of 3 seed rate (75, 100 and 125 kg ha 1 ). 2 row spacing (30 and 45) and 4 weed management practices (weedy check. two hand weeding at 30 and 45 DAS, Pendimethalin @ 0.5 kg a.i ha·• as pre emergence + one hand weeding at 30 DAS and Metnbuzin @ 0.25 kg ai ha 1 as pre emergence + one hand weeding) was laid out in split plot design, keeping seed rate and row spacing in main plot and weed management practices in sub plot with three replication. Study revealed that sowing of crop by using 100 and 125 kg seed ha'1 significantly reduced the weed population and dry weight over 75 kg seed rate ha·'. The gram yield of Ch1ckpea was significantly increased upto 100 kg seed rate and weed dry weight were recorded in crop sown at 30 at em row spacing. Among the weed management pendimethalin @ 0.5 kg ha'1+one hand weeding at 30 DAS and Metribuzm @ 0.25 kg a.1. ha 1 as pre emergence + one hand weeding at 30 DAS produced higher grain yield which was at par with two hand weeding at 30 and 45 DAS and also emerged out as economical weed management pract~