Impact of weed management practices on weeds and okra crop

A preliminary study was conducted during the summer of 2014 and 2015 at the N.M. College of Agriculture, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat, India to evaluate the 10 treatments of weed-management, i.e. stale seedbed, pre- and post-emergence herbicides alone and in combination, integrated weed-management and hand-weeding in summer okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench]. Almost 73.2% of weed infestation was dominated by grasses and sedges, followed by broad-leaf weeds (26.8%). Uncontrolled weed growth caused significant reduction in mean green pod yield of okra by 67%. Weed-free plot [3 hand-weedings (HW) at 20, 40 and 60 days after sowing (DAS)] showed the maximum weed-control efficiency (WCE) (88.4%), resulting in higher green pod yield (16.8 t/ha) and net returns (₹105,233/ha). Statistically at par yields were also obtained from plots treated with not incorporated and 2 HW at 20 and 40 DAS (14.3 t/ha) and pendimethalin 1.0 kg/ha followed by (fib) quizalofop-ethyl 0.04 kg/ha at 30 DAS (13.9 t/ha) with net returns of ₹83,442 and ₹82,277/ha respectively. Application of pendimethalin 1.0 kg/ha (pre) fb quizalofop ethyl 0.04 kg/ha at 30 DAS supressed the weeds effectively (71.3% WCE) which not only reduced the drudgery of farm labour but also found practically more convenient and economically feasible weed-management option for higher production of okra fruit crop.