Mycorrhiza, Charcoal, and Rocket Salad Powder as Eco-friendly Methods for Controlling Broomrape Weed in Inter-planted Faba Bean with Flax

Abstract

Till now, there is no complete program that could be implemented to eradicate the parasitic weeds such as broomrape because of their complex life cycle. Therefore, the current research aimed to find new and safe agricultural practices to solve, partially at least, the issues of broomrape in faba bean fields. The experiment was conducted for two winter seasons of 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 in naturally infested field with broomrape. Treatments involved application of mycorrhiza, charcoal and rocket salad powder, glyphosate–isopropylammonium herbicide, and weedy check applied whether with sole planting of faba bean and interplanting with flax. The experiment was designed in a strip plot based on completely randomized block arrangement with six replicates. Broomrape number and weight, infested faba bean plants, faba bean agronomic traits, and seed nutrient uptake were estimated. In both seasons, glyphosate whether with sole or interplanting patterns recorded the lowest values of broomrape number plot‒1 and broomrape weight plot‒1 without significant variation with charcoal and rocket salad applied in interplanted plots. The maximum increases in faba bean seed yield were observed with application of charcoal × sole or interplanting pattern and rocket salad × interplanting pattern in the 2018/2019 season as well as charcoal, mycorrhiza, and rocket salad with sole pattern in the 2019/2020 season. Charcoal, mycorrhiza, and rocket salad were effective practices whether under sole or interplanting patterns for improving nutrient uptake, especially in the first season. In the second season, rocket salad with sole or interplanting pattern was the stable interaction for enhancing all nutrient uptake. Reducing broomrape hazards expressed in low number and weight with less infested faba bean plants was confined by application of mycorrhiza, charcoal, and rocket salad powder whether with sole planting of faba bean and interplanting with flax. Hence, faba bean farmers are advised to apply such promising safe practices for sustaining faba bean cultivation in lands infested by broomrape.