Efficacy of physical weed management practices on performance of irrigated organic finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.)

A field experiment was conducted to study the Efficacy of weed management practices in irrigated organic finger millet during kharif season 2012 at the Main Research Station, Hebbal, Bengaluru. Among physical/mechanical weed management treatments hand weeding twice at 20 and 30 days after planting (DAP) gave highest grain (5460 kg ha⁻¹) and straw yield (7200 kg ha⁻¹) and was at par with stale seedbed combined with two inter cultivations. Besides, passing wheel hoe twice with one manual weeding was also at par with these treatments. Superior yield was accompanied with taller plant height, higher 1000 grain weight, fingers/ear, finger length, LAI, tillers and dry matter per plant in these treatments.