Efficacy of Herbicides in Controlling Wild Onion (Asphodelus Tenuifolius L.) in Cumin Grown Under Arid Climatic Conditions
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
agronomy Article Efficacy of Herbicides in Controlling Wild Onion (Asphodelus tenuifolius L.) in Cumin Grown under Arid Climatic Conditions Moti Lal Mehriya 1,*, Neelam Geat 1, Sita Ram Kumhar 1, Abdullah A. Alrajhi 2 , Mohammed A. Alkuriji 3,* , Ahmed Z. Dewidar 4 and Mohamed A. Mattar 5,6 1 Agricultural Research Station, Mandor, Agriculture University, Jodhpur 342304, India; [email protected] (N.G.); [email protected] (S.R.K.) 2 King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), King Abdullah Road, Riyadh 11442, Saudi Arabia; [email protected] 3 National Center of Agricultural Technology, Life Science & Environmental Research Institute, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), King Abdullah Road, Riyadh 11442, Saudi Arabia 4 Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water Chair, Prince Sultan Institute for Environmental, Water and Desert Research, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia; [email protected] 5 Department of Agricultural Engineering, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia; [email protected] 6 Agricultural Engineering Research Institute (AEnRI), Agricultural Research Centre, Giza 12618, Egypt * Correspondence: [email protected] (M.L.M.); [email protected] (M.A.A.) Abstract: A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of different herbicides Citation: Mehriya, M.L.; Geat, N.; for controlling wild onion (Asphodelus tenuifolius) in cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) during the rabi Kumhar, S.R.; Alrajhi, A.A.; Alkuriji, seasons (2018–2019 and 2019–2020) at Agricultural Research Station, Agriculture University, Jodhpur, M.A.; Dewidar, A.Z.; Mattar, M.A. Rajasthan. The experiment comprised eight herbicidal weed management treatments for wild Efficacy of Herbicides in Controlling onion applied to cumin in a three-replication randomized block design. Among the herbicidal Wild Onion (Asphodelus tenuifolius L.) weed management treatments, early post-emergence (8 DAS) application of oxyfluorfen 200 g/ha in Cumin Grown under Arid Climatic resulted in the lowest weed density and dry matter of Asphodilus tenuifolius, with maximum weed Conditions. Agronomy 2021, 11, 1597. (Asphodilus tenuifolius) control efficiency at 40 days after sowing (DAS) during both experimental https://doi.org/10.3390/ years. Likewise, the highest total efficiency of weed control was recorded with the application of agronomy11081597 oxyfluorfen 200 g/ha at 8 DAS. Oxyflourfen 200 g/ha used early post emergence (8 DAS) reduced the weed index more effectively than the other herbicides. It also recorded the highest number Academic Editors: James V. Anderson of branches/plant, plant height, umbels/plant, umbellates/umbel, seeds/umbellates, and seed and David P. Horvath yield. However, application of oxyflourfen @ 200 g/ha 8 DAS–early POE and pendimethalin 38.7 CS Received: 5 July 2021 500 g/ha + oxyfluorfen @ 150 g/ha 8 DAS–early POE were statistically similar in terms of plant Accepted: 10 August 2021 growth, yield, and yield attributes. The net returns (366.49 USD/ha in 2018–2019 and 175.72 USD/ha Published: 11 August 2021 in 2019–2020) and B:C ratio (1.70 and 1.33 in 2018–2019 and 2019–2020, respectively) were also superior, with oxyfluorfen 200 g/ha applied early post emergence. Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in Keywords: B:C ratio; oxyflourfen; weed density; seed yield; weed control efficiency; weed index published maps and institutional affil- iations. 1. Introduction Cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) is mostly grown in India, Morocco, Iran, Turkey, Greece, Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Syria, Egypt, Algeria, and China [1]. Cumin is an important spice crop in India. This Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. crop is widely adopted as an essential commercial crop in arid and semi-arid regions of This article is an open access article India. Gujarat and Rajasthan are the top producers of cumin. It is cultivated in an area of distributed under the terms and 9.25 lakh hectares with the production of 5.4 lakh tons and productivity of 640 kg/ha in conditions of the Creative Commons India during 2019–2020 [2]. Cumin is valued for its distinctive aroma, which comes from Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// its essential oil ranging between 2.7 and 4.3% in indigenous collections and up to 5.5% in creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ exotic collections [3]. Cumin seeds are used for various purposes, including condiments, 4.0/). Agronomy 2021, 11, 1597. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11081597 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy Agronomy 2021, 11, 1597 2 of 11 medicine, flavoring, and seasoning agents. Following the extraction of the volatile oil, the residues contain high levels of protein (17%) and fat (20.42%), making them suitable for use as cattle feed [4]. Cuminaldehyde or cuminal is a major component of cumin essential oil contributing to the specific value-added aroma and has carminative, stomachic, and astringent properties [1,3]. Cumin is a short-statured crop with slow germination and initial growth and less canopy cover, making it unable to compete with weeds. Most farmers sow by broadcasting method, which takes time for germination (10–14 days) and requires one or two extra irrigations for better germination [5]. These factors provide an ideal atmosphere for the luxurious growth of weeds during the initial crop growth stage, which compete for essential resources (water, nutrients, light, and space), resulting in low seed yield. Cumin seed yields might be reduced by 80–90% owing to weed infestations, depending on the severity and kind of plant flora present in the field [6]. As a result, successful weed control is needed to achieve the optimal level of yield and improve resource usage efficiency, as arid and semi-arid soils are still deficient in these resources. The major weed species that appear in the cumin crop in Rajasthan (India) are Chenopodium murale L., Rumex dentatus L., Chenopodium album L., and Cynodon dactylon L. [7]. Asphodelus tenuifolius has emerged as a major noxious weed of cumin. Additionally, wild onion (A. tenuifolius) is a serious weed of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), mustard (Brassica juncea L.), linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.), and lentil (Lens culinaris Medic.) in India [8,9]. It germinates quickly, regenerates, and competes with crops in the early phases of growth [10]. Earlier reports suggest that wild onion leaves have an allelopathic effect on the germination and growth of different crop plants [11]. Tewari et al. [8] reported that chickpea and mustard yield was decreased by 80% and 56%, respectively, due to infestation of Asphodelus tenuifolius. Controlling Asphodelus tenuifolius in cumin crops under field conditions is a big chal- lenge for the farmers of arid regions. Hand pulling (manual weeding) of Asphodelus tenuifolius is common, but due to the unusual configuration of the sturdy roots, this method frequently results only in top removal. Bulbs or bulblets will likely be left in the ground, and new leaves will later re-emerge. This is also an expensive, labor-intensive, and time-consuming method of weed control. Chemical weed control may be the most suitable option to over- come these problems [12]. Herbicides play an essential role in weed control where manual or mechanical weeding is difficult [13]. Weed control has crucial importance in increasing the yield of the crop. Controlling wild onion (Asphodelus tenuifolius) and other allied weeds, which have a significant impact on cumin crop yields, requires effective weed management techniques. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the influence of various herbicidal weed management practices on noxious weed density and consequential effects on various growth parameters of cumin, including seed yield and yield attributes. 2. Material and Methods 2.1. Field Experiment During two successive rabi seasons (2018–2019 and 2019–2020), a field experiment was conducted at Agricultural Research Station, Mandor, Agriculture University, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India. Geographically, it is located between 26◦150 N and 26◦450 N latitude and 73◦000 E and 73◦290 E longitude at an altitude of 231 m above mean sea level. This research station falls under agro-climatic zone Ia (Arid Western Plains Zone) of Rajasthan. The experimental field’s soil was composed of a sandy loam with a low organic carbon content (0.13%), slightly alkaline in reaction (pH 8.2), and available nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium was 173, 23.2, and 325 kg/ha, respectively. The climate of Jodhpur is typically arid with hot dry summers. The average annual rainfall is about 367 mm, and the bulk of it (85 to 90%) is received from June to September (Kharif season) by the southwest monsoon. The weekly agro-meteorological parameters were recorded and are presented in chart format during 2018–2019 and 2019–2020 (Figure1). Meteorological data were collected Agronomy 2021, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 11 Agronomy 2021, 11, 1597 3 of 11 bulk of it (85 to 90%) is received from June to September (Kharif season) by the southwest monsoon. The weekly agro-meteorological parameters were recorded and are presented in chart format during 2018–2019 and 2019–2020 (Figure 1). Meteorological data were col- lectedfrom the from meteorological the meteorological station ofstation ICAR-Central of ICAR- AridCentral Zone Arid Research Zone Research Institute, In Jodhpur,stitute, Jodhpur,Rajasthan Rajasthan (India). (India). Figure 1. WeeklyWeekly meteorological