Effective weed control strategy in tomato kitchen gardens - herbicides, mulching or manual weeding

Abstract

Effect of weed control on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) crop has been rarely explored in kitchen gardens for improving fruit yield and quality. Therefore, we studied the impact of manual weeding, herbicide application and mulching (using polyethylene sheet) on tomato crop improvement in kitchen gardens. The data show significant differences among different treatments in terms of weed density/m2, weed fresh biomass and dry biomass and quality of tomato plants in terms of plant height, fruit-bearing (fruits/plant) and yield (tonne/ha). Highest weed density/m2 (3.5 ± 0.84) was observed in plots with herbicide treatment and it was similar to that in control. Weed fresh biomass was significantly reduced in all treatments. Manual weeding resulted in the highest number of fruits/plant (33.75 ± 1.67), plant height (60 ± 1.01 cm) and yield of tomato (4.45 ± 0.18 tonne/ha). Therefore, manual control proved to be the most effective treatment in terms of weed suppression and yield enhancement of tomato crop. It was also observed that in crop production mulching must be encouraged in the future weed management strategies.