Allelopathic effects of sawdust, rice straw, bur-clover weed and cogongrass on weed control and development of onion

Allelopathic effects of sawdust, rice straw, bur-clover weed and cogongrass on weed control and development of onion

2015

E11100

Onion (Allium cepa L.) does not compete well with weeds, especially at the early stage of growth; relatively weed-free conditions are required for successful production. Allelopathy may have a beneficial role in weed control and crop production. Shortage of hand labor and avoidance of synthetic herbicides makes weed control in onion difficult. Response of weeds to allelopathy may vary according to plant species, plant parts and thickness of mulch used. The study was conducted using organic mulches: sawdust (SD), rice straw (RS), burclover weed (CW) or cogongrass (CG) in comparison with hand hoeing (HH) and the herbicide butralin+1 hoeing (BUH) on growth, bulb nutrient concentration, yield, and quality of onion plants and control of associated weeds. Weed density responded differently to mulches. Lolium multiflorum Lam. was affected less compared to broadleaved weeds. Application of SD, RS, CW, CG, HH and BUH, decreased total weed dry weight at 75 days after onion transplanting by 42, 51, 62, 63, 92 and 98%, respectively. All mulch treatments require an additional hand weeding after 60 days from transplanting. Weed competition caused decreased onion plant dry weight (43-56%), bulb diameter (44%) and marketable yields (65.5%). The CV mulch allowed onion to produce the highest marketable yield. The CW efficacy control was less (up to 62%) compared to HH (98%). Organic mulch are effective for weed control and could be a potential alternative to synthetic herbicides, hoeing or hand removal of weeds in onion organic farming. Further studies are needed to evaluate if combinations of mulches can provide better control than each individually, their side effects on beneficial organisms diseases, and insects and the effectiveness of these mulches under organic production system.

7(1):337-345, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CHEMTECH RESEARCH

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