Combined use of butachlor and cowpea for weed management in okra production
Keywords:
cowpea grain yield, okra pod yield, weed biomass, weed control ratingAbstract
For large-scale crop cultivation manual weeding is unviable. The use of herbicides shrinks manual labor requirements; but herbicide’s weed control efficacy is not at its peak for a prolonged period, especially for a long-duration crop. The study's objective was to test the supplementary attributes of cowpeas in prolonging the suppression of weeds in okra plots. Treatments involved in the study were: Butachlor at 1.0 kg a.i./ha + cowpea at 40,000 plants/ha, Butachlor at 2.0 kg a.i./ha + cowpea at 40,000 plants/ha), Hoe-weeding at 3, 6, and 9 weeks after sowing, and Weedy Control. Weed Control Rating, weed biomass, cowpea grain yield, okra pods/plant, and pod yields were measured. Combined use of Butachlor at 2.0 kg a. i./ha plus cowpea maintained a similar weed control rating with Hoe weeded control up till 8 weeks after sowing and became less effective at 10 weeks growth stage, it also resulted in significantly greater average grain yields (344.4 kg/ha) than when the lower rate of herbicide concentration of 1.0 kg a.i./ha was used (181.3 kg/ha). HighButa had a greater mean okra pod yield (3.1 t/ha) than LowButa (2.1 t/ha), but it was less than the yield of the hoe-weeded control (4.2 t/ha), the weedy plot had pod yield of 1.1 t/ha. Uninterrupted weed interference in okra plots resulted in a 73.8 % average loss in okra pod yield. Combination of cowpea with butachlor prolonged weed suppression in okra, such methodology is therefore recommended.
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References
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