Impact of Weed Management Options on Weed Dynamics and Yield of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.): A Review

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) belongs to Fabaceae family and a vital legume crop in India, serving as a primary source of protein in the Indian diet. It is essential to the nutrition of thousands of people in the developing world but at present its productivity is extremely low in India. There are various reasons for low productivity. Among the various factors that contribute to the low production losses resulting from weeds, one of the most significant one’s accounts for 30–54% of the total loss. Understanding the weed populations in the field in full detail is necessary to determine when to manage weeds. Due to their slow development and growth rate, chickpea is a poor crop competition with weeds. Up to 60 days after sowing, it competes with chickpea weeds due to its few branches and little leaf area. Various management techniques, such as cultivar competition, spacing adjustments, etc., are helpful in increasing output. Pre-emergence herbicides like pendimethalin, quizalofop, etc., are more effective in order to control the weeds right from the germination. Post-emergence herbicides like imazethapyr, imazamox and topramezone etc., applications are becoming more important as the world enters the era of precision farming. Chickpea is highly susceptible to weed competition and the weeds causes 75% of yield losses. Considering the losses caused due to weeds, it is essential to manage the weeds within their critical crop-weed competition period. Combining two or more herbicides, either simultaneously or in a sequential 'double knockdown' approach, and integration of hand-weeding with pre-emergence herbicides, offers effective management of various weed species while minimizing the risks associated with post-emergence chemical weed control methods.