Weed management approaches on weed growth, productivity and profitability of summer green gram (Vigna radiata L.)

Green gram is an important pulse crop in India. Its cultivation is affected due to several biotic and abiotic factors, which have reduced the yield significantly. Among these factors, weed infestation is a prominent challenge that can lead to significant reductions in productivity. A field experiment was conducted with ten weed management treatments to evaluate the weed growth, yield and economics of green gram during summer, 2022. Ten treatments were evaluated, including techniques such as stale seedbed, pendimethalin at 750 g ha-1, imazethapyr at 75 g ha-1 and hand weeding. The dominant weeds in the experimental area were Digitaria sanguinalis, Poa annua and Melochia corchorifolia. The lowest biomass and density of weeds were achieved with two-hand weeding, which was comparable to treatments involving pendimethalin fb imazethapyr and stale seedbed fb imazethapyr. Among the weed management practices, the lowest value of weed index was recorded in pendimethalin fb imazethapyr (4.95 %), followed by stale seedbed technique fb imazethapyr (7.26 %), whilst it was the highest under weedy check (60.34 %). The maximum seed yield was noted in the hand weeding treatment (10.70 q ha-1), which was followed by pendimethalin fb imazethapyr (10.17 q ha-1) and stale seedbed fb imazethapyr (9.92 q ha-1). Pendimethalin fb imazethapyr also fetched the highest net return ₹ 39335 ha-1) and B:C (2.14) and at par with stale seedbed fb imazethapyr (₹ 37240 ha-1 and 2.07). The study concluded that pendimethalin or stale seedbed with imazethapyr provided effective weed management and enhanced productivity and profitability in summer green gram.