IMPACT OF WEED MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON WILD ONION (Asphodelus tenuifolius Cav.) AND CHICKPEA (Cicer arietinum L.)

To study control of noxious weed (A. tenuifolius) in chickpea cv. Shinghar through different weed management practices, an adaptive research trial was conducted at farmer’s field in village Mela Mandra Khel, District Lakki Marwat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan during winter 2007–08, using RCB design having four replications. The experiment comprised of five treatments viz., two herbicides, hand weeding (thrice), weeds free and weedy check. The herbicides included were Topik @ 0.2 kg a.i ha-1, and Puma super @ 2 kg a.i ha-1. The data were recorded on weed density m-2, number of pods plant-1, plant height (cm) and grain yield (kg ha-1), which were significantly affected by different weed management practices. Maximum grain yield and its components (plant height and number of pods plant-1) were obtained in weeds free plots, followed by plots, where noxious weeds were uprooted three times during crop growing period. Minimum grain yield and its components were recorded in weedy check, where noxious weed was left free to grow. Both herbicides showed no significant effect on number of pods plant-1 and grain yield.