GROWTH AND YIELD OF MUNGBEAN AS AFFECTED BY PLANT DENSITY AND METHODS OF WEED CONTROL

Abstract

The experiment was conducted at the Agronomy Research Farm of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka during the period from April to June, 2014 to find out the growth and yield of mungbean as affected by plant density and methods of weed control. The experiment comprised of two factors; Factor A: Plant density (4 levels)- D1- 30 cm × continuous, D2- 30 cm × 5 cm, D3- 30 cm × 10 cm and D4- 30 cm × 15 cm; Factor B: Methods of weed control (4 levels)- W0- No weeding (control), W1- Two hand weeding (at 15 and 30 DAS), W2- Pre-emergence herbicide application (application of Topstar 80 WP @ 75 g ha-1 at 3 DAS) and W3- Post emergence herbicide application (application of Whip Super 9 EC @ 750 ml ha-1 at 15 & 30 DAS). The varieties of mungbean BARI Mung-6 was used as the test crop for this study. The two factors experiment was laid out in split plot design with three replications. For plant density, at 20 DAS, the maximum numbers of weed population m-2 (7.67) were recorded in D4 and the minimum (6.08) was recorded in D1. At 40 DAS, the maximum numbers of weed population m-2 (14.00) were recorded in D1, while the minimum (11.50) was recorded in D3. The highest number of pods plant-1 (18.92), the highest seed yield (1.36 t ha-1) and the highest stover yield (1.75 t ha-1) were observed from D3, while the lowest number of pods plant1 (15.02), the lowest seed yield (1.13 t ha-1) and the lowest stover yield were recorded (1.56 t ha-1) was recorded from D1. In case of methods of weed control, at 20 and 40 DAS the maximum numbers of weed population m-2 (15.92 and 26.58) were found in W0, while the minimum (3.50 and 7.00) in W3. The highest number of pods plant-1 (18.82), highest seed yield (1.39 t ha-1) and highest stover yield (1.85 t ha-1) were recorded from W2, again the lowest number of pods plant-1 (13.72), lowest seed yield (1.06 t ha-1) and lowest stover yield (1.36 t ha-1) were found from W0 treatment. Due to the interaction effect of different plant density and methods of weed control at 20 DAS, the maximum number of weed population m-2 (16.67) was found from D4W0, while the minimum (2.33) from D1W3 treatment combination. At 40 DAS, the maximum number of weed population m-2 (28.33) was found from D1W0, while the minimum (6.00) from D3W2. The highest number of pods plant-1 (20.63), highest seed yield (1.47 t ha-1) and highest stover yield (1.94 t ha-1) were recorded from D3W2 and the lowest number of pod plant-1 (12.03), lowest seed yield and (1.02 t ha-1) and lowest stover yield (1.28 t ha-1) were found from D1W0. Plant density of 30 cm × 10 cm and pre-emergence herbicide application (application of Topstar 80 WP @ 75 gm ha-1 at 3 DAS) can be more beneficial for the farmers to get maximum yield from the cultivation of BARI Mung-6.