Comparative Effects of Crop Residue Mulches on Weed Dynamics, Soil Moisture, and Yields of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Under Rainfed Conditions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53550/ijsc.v54.i1.222Keywords:
Crop residue mulching, Chickpea mulching, Harvest index, Weed biomass, Yield revisionAbstract
In rainfed chickpea cultivation, soil moisture stress and severe weed infestation are major constraints limiting productivity, while open-field burning of crop residues poses serious environmental concerns. With this background, an experiment was conducted during the winter or Rabi season of 2022-23 at Agricultural Research Farm, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, to evaluate the effects of different crop residue mulches on weed dynamics, soil moisture conservation, growth, and yield of chickpea. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design (RBD) with seven treatments and three replications. The treatments included: without mulch, dust mulch, paddy straw mulch @ 5 t ha-1, maize stover mulch @ 5 t ha-1, Leucaena twigs mulch @ 5 t ha-1, paddy straw mulch @ 2.5 t ha-1 + Leucaena twigs mulch @ 2.5 t ha-1, maize stover mulch @ 2.5 t ha-1 + Leucaena twigs mulch @ 2.5 t ha-1. Results revealed that the application of paddy straw mulch at 5 t ha-1 was the best treatment for reducing weed density and biomass at 60 and 90 DAS of chickpea. Although dust mulching recorded lower weed density and biomass at 30 DAS, it was ineffective during the subsequent crop growth period due to rapid flushes and proliferating weed germination. The maximum mid-season surface soil moisture (16.7%) was recorded under paddy straw mulch @ 5 t ha⁻¹ at 60 DAS, and it was found at par with paddy straw mulch @ 2.5 t ha-¹ + Leucaena twigs mulch @ 2.5 t ha-1 while the minimum was observed under no mulch treatment. Moreover, paddy straw mulch @ 2.5 t ha-1 + Leucaena twigs mulch @ 2.5 t ha-1 excelled over all other treatments in terms of growth, yield parameters, and yield. Hence, application of paddy straw mulch @ 2.5 t ha-1 + Leucaena twigs mulch @ 2.5 t ha-1 may be recommended for higher growth and yield of chickpea under rainfed conditions similar to the experimental site.
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