Effect of weed-management practices on weed dynamics, yield, and economics of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) in black calcareous soil

A field experiment was conducted during the rainy (kharif) seasons of 2012 and 2013 on Vertisols at Junagadh, Gujarat to study the effects of pre-and post-emergence herbicides, alone or integrated with manual/mechanical weeding on weed pressure, productivity and economic returns of kharif groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.). Pendimethalin @ 0.9 kg/ha as pre-emergence (PE) + imazethapyr @ 75 g/ha as post-emergence (PoE) herbicides 20 days after sowing (DAS) resulted in significantly higher growth attributes, yield attributes and yield, quality parameters, and net returns over the unweeded control, and was found at par with hand-weeding and inter-culturing at 20 and 40 DAS, and pendimethalin @ 0.9 kg/ha as pre-emergence + hand-weeding and inter-culturing at 40 DAS. However, significantly highest NPK in soil after crop harvest was recorded with oxadiargyl @ 90 g/ha as PoE at 20 DAS + hand-weeding and inter-culturing at 40 DAS.