Effective weed control through post-emergence herbicides to enhance blackgram (Vigna mungo L.) productivity in South India

Abstract

Pulses are essential components of vegetarian diet and play a pivotal role in addressing malnutrition by providing a vital source of dietary protein. However, weed competition remains as a significant obstacle to blackgram ( Vigna mungo L) production, resulting in 25 to 35% yield losses. A field experiment was carried out at the National Pulses Research Centre, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Vamban, Pudukkottai, India during Kharif seasons of 2020 and 2021, to assess the suitable post-emergence herbicides for appropriate weed control in blackgram grown under irrigated conditions. The experimental field was observed to contain notable grass weed flora, specifically Dactyloctenium aegyptium and Chloris barbata , as well as broadleaved weeds, such as Flaveria australica , Cleome gynandra , Eclipta alba , Convolvulus arvensis , Digera arvensis , Vicia spp., and Celosia argentea . The results demonstrated that among the chemical weed management methods, spraying of Fomesafen @ 220 g + Fluzifop p-butyl @ 220 g ha −1 at 20 days after sowing (DAS) as a post-emergence herbicide treatment exhibited superior weed control efficiency, recording 66.80% and 68.53% at 30 and 45 DAS, respectively and recorded higher seed yield of 1088 kg ha −1 . Additionally, this method generated 8.1% higher net income and 12.5% more benefit–cost ratio than hand weeding, making it an economically profitable strategy for maximizing blackgram yield and effective labour management.