No abstract

Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is cultivated as a medicinal plant but it also can be a troublesome weed. It is an annual or biennial herb that prefers high rainfall and fertile soils. Milk thistle has become a widespread weed in north-western Pakistan, where it causes yield reductions Յ37% in wheat and poses harvesting problems due to its thorny nature. Shortcomings in cultural practises, such as a low crop seed rate, wide row spacing, broadcast fertilizer, and limited crop rotation have contributed to milk thistle becoming a severe weed problem for farmers in this region.This paper reviews the biology of milk thistle and discusses the possible management options for its control, considering the socioeconomic conditions of farmers in Pakistan.

No abstract

No abstract

to evaluate the effects of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) levels and their methods of application on quality parameters of canola . Four levels of S (0, 20, 40, and 60 kg ha −1 ) and three levels of N (80, 120, and 160 kg ha −1 ) and a control treatment (with both nutrients at zero level) were applied as a sole dose at sowing, in two split applications (half each at sowing and leaf rosette stages) and three split applications (one third each at sowing, leaf rosette stage, and early flowering). Large increases in oil and protein concentrations were measured at 40 kg S ha −1 while no further significant increase was observed at 60 kg S ha −1 . However, increasing level of S consistently increased glucosinolate concentrations to the highest level of 60 kg S ha −1 . Nitrogen significantly increased protein concentrations up to the maximum level of 160 kg N ha −1 while glucosinolate concentrations were increased up to 120 kg N ha −1 . However, oil concentrations showed negative trend to increasing level of N.