Impact of Pre and Post-Emergence Herbicides on Weed Dynamics and Yield Performance of Green Gram (Vigna radiata L.)

Abstract

Weed management is an important factor in enhancing the productivity of green gram. The traditional practice of hand weeding require dependence on the increased number of labours during the peak period of sowing and harvesting are becoming expensive. A field experiment was conducted in the Experimental Farm, Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar during February - April, 2024 to study the impact of pre and post-emergence herbicides on weed dynamics and yield performance of green gram. The experiment consists of eleven treatments were laid out in randomized block design with three replications. Among the herbicidal treatments, sequential application of Pendimethalin @ 1 kg a.i. ha-1 on 3 DAS (Pre) + Propaquizafop @ 50 g a.i. ha-1 on 20 DAS (PoE) (T8) resulted in lower total weed density, weed dry weight and higher weed control efficiency (WCE). This treatment also led to maximum grain yield (522 kg ha-1), haulm yield (1472 kg ha-1), net income (Rs. 24628 ha-1) and benefit cost ratio (BCR) (2.03) indicating superior weed suppression and economic feasibility. In future, the evaluation of other selective herbicides such as imazethapyr, quizalofop and fenoxaprop-pethyl etc., either alone or sequential application with pre-emergence herbicides may provide promising strategy for effective weed management and optimal productivity of green gram.