Abstract
ABSTRACT: Tillage practice has a significant role on weeds eradication and soil water conservation in crop production. Under semiarid agriculture, the monsoon rains (65%) are major source of water in Potohar, Pakistan, which can effectively be used mostly for winter crops production. To evaluate the impact of different tillage system for prevailing cropping systems and their weeds biomass under semiarid conditions, field experiment was conducted at the Arid University Research Farm Koont Rawalpindi (Pakistan) during crop growth seasons 2013-14 and 2014-15. Tillage systems as treatments were (a) three cultivations with a cultivator, as control treatment, (b) mold-board with two cultivations, (c) chisel-plough with two cultivations and (d) minimum tillage (only tillage performed at sowing time) with glyphosate. Sowing was made using drill for all cropping systems i.e. a, b, and d except c which was planted on bed (made by bed planter). In addition to ploughing treatments, different cropping systems (a) wheat - fallow (b) wheat and brassica - fallow, (c) wheat and chickpea - fallow and (d) wheat - cluster bean (green manure crop) were also used for minimum two years rotations. On average in both study years, interactive effect of treatments (mold board with 2 cultivations) for the rotation wheat and brassica - fallow showed a reduction in weeds dry biomass of Anagallis arvensis (blue pimpernel, 55.6%), Asphodelus tenuifolius (jungle onion, 42.3%), Chenopodium album (common goosefoot, 40.8%), Circium arvense (creeping thistle, 53.1%), Convolvulus arvensis (field bind weed, 56.6%) and Cynodon dactylon (vilfa stellata, 45.8%) within 60 days after sowing (DAS) as compared with the control treatment (three cultivations on a wheat - fallow cropping system). Similar trends were observed at the crop maturity stage. Results of the experiment showed that better weed biomass suppression can be achieved by using moldboard plough for cultivation with followed by wheat- brassica cropping system and/or wheat - chickpea intercropping for semiarid soil condition in Pakistan.
Highlights
Short duration crops like chickpea, groundnut, barley and millets are frequently found in semiarid fields of Pakistan (Naz et al, 2010)
The objective of this study was to identify a tillage practice suits better with the cropping system that is relatively effective in controlling weeds population e.g. Anagallis arvensis, Asphodelus tenuifolius, Chenopodium album, Circium arvense, Convolvulus arvensis and Cynodon dactylon
Interactive effect for tillage and cropping systems on Anagallis arvensis dry biomass was determined at two stages i.e. after 60 days and at maturity of crops
Summary
Short duration crops like chickpea, groundnut, barley and millets are frequently found in semiarid fields of Pakistan (Naz et al, 2010). Inter-cropping and deep tillage practices in rainfed areas conserved moisture efficiently, which otherwise lost due to field exposure to the solar radiation with single cropping round the year (Xing-Bin et al, 2014). Weeds such as Anagallis arvensis, Asphodelus tenuifolius, and Chenopodium album are the most extensive class of many crops like chickpea, groundnut, barley and millets which cause partial to complete crop damage over the wide areas in world mainly in the South Eastern countries (Taghinazhad et al, 2012).Weeds infestation have reduced crop yield and reduce the quality of end product. It is found that a number of weeds (e.g. Perennial weeds) have declined rapidly and becomes extinct by techniques of different cropping systems (Liebman and Davis, 2015)
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