Document Type : Research Article
Authors
1
Department of Plant Productions, Agricultural Faculty of Bardsir, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran
2
Department of Plant Production, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Torbat Heydarieh, Torbat Heydarieh, Iran
3
Department of Plant Production and Genetics Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran
4
Member of the Plant and Environmental Stresses Research Group, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran
Abstract
Introduction
Weeds are the main factor limiting cumin production. Hand weeding is used as the most important and common method of weed management in cumin fields, which, in addition to spending a lot of time, takes a large part of the production cost. Cumin is weak in competition with weeds because it has a low and weak initial growth and establishment speed, and its biomass and height of its aerial organs are low, in addition, its root expansion is not very notable. The amount of weed damage in cumin cultivation is reported from 40 to 90 percentage depends on the type of weed species and density, the length of the competition period, cultivation conditions, control time and management of nutrients and in different conditions. Trifluralin (Treflan) is used by some farmers at planting time of cumin as a foliar spray in the soil or with irrigation water. Interviews conducted with farmers confirm that the use of this herbicide at the time of planting cumin affects the seeds of the plant to some extent and reduces the germination percentage of this plant, although some farmers also believe that there is no side effect in this case. Another challenge to successful cumin production, particularly in rainy years, is plant diseases. Wilt, leaf burn, and surface powdery mildew, caused by *Fusarium oxysporum*, *Alternaria burnsii*, and *Erysiphe polygoni*, respectively, are among the most significant diseases affecting cumin worldwide. Therefore, this study was carried out with the following objectives:
1) Investigating the effect of trifluralin herbicide abuse at different intervals until planting, on the percentage of cumin seedling emergence.
2) The effect of using trifluralin herbicide at different intervals until planting, on the population and growth of weeds.
3) The effect of irrigation method on cumin yield
4) Investigating the effect of irrigation method on the percentage and yield of cumin essential oil
5) The effect of irrigation method on the contamination of cumin plants with Fusarium fungus
6) Studying the water use efficiency in different irrigation and weed management methods
Materials and Methods
Therefore, in order to evaluate the effect of the weed management method and the type of irrigation on the control of weeds, an experiment was conducted as split-plot based on a randomized complete block design with 3 replications in the research farm of the Agricultural Faculty of Bardsir, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman in 2022-2023. The experimental treatments include the type of irrigation in two levels (flooded and sprinkler) and weed management in seven levels (hand weeding, time of planting the cumin seeds after 3, 7, 14 and 21 days trifluralin herbicide application and no weed control).
Results and Discussion
The type of irrigation showed a significant effect on weeds density and dry weight, the percentage of plant wilt, the number of umbrellas per plant, biological yield, seed yield, essential oil percentage, essential oil yield and water use efficiency at the level of 1% and the harvest index at the level of 5%. The method of weed management showed a significant effect on the density and dry weight of weeds, the number of emerged plants, plant height, the number of umbrellas per plant, biological yield, seed yield, essential oil yield and water use efficiency at the level of 1% and harvest index at the level 5%. The interaction effect of irrigation and weed management methods showed a significant effect on the density and dry weight of weeds, the of essential oil percentage and yield at the level of 1%, and the biological yield and yield of seeds at the level of 5%. The results of this experiment showed that sprinkler irrigation had better conditions in terms of weed and disease control as well as seed and essential oil yields compared to flood irrigation. Among the herbicide treatments, the application of trifluralin 3 days before planting had better weed control results. By increasing the distance of cumin planting from the time of herbicide application, despite the increase in weed dry weight and density, cumin seed yield improved. In both irrigation methods, treatments of hand weeding and cumin planting after 21 days of herbicide application had the highest yield of seed and essential oil.
Conclusion
In general, cumin planting 21 days after trifluralin application and using sprinkler irrigation were able to reduce the weed density and biomass to an acceptable level and on the other hand, they produced a good seed and essential oil yield which is recommended.
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