Effect of sowing date and weed control method on the growth and yield of soybean

Abstract

© 2016, Faculty of Agriculture in Osijek. All rights reserved. Sowing date and weed management play a significant role in determining soybean growth, development and seed yield. Results showed that different sowing date and weed control methods had significant effect on relative weed density, weed biomass, weed control efficiency, plant height, dry weight plant-1 and seed yield of soybean. Among the infested weed species in the experimental field the dominant weeds were Lindernia procumbens (44.78%), Echinochloa colonum (26.39%) and Cynodon dactylon (16.30%). The results also revealed that early sowing (2 January) brought about the highest seed yield (2.17 t ha -1 ) and sowing delay (1 February) resulted in the lowest yield (1.64 t ha -1 ). Two times hand weeding (20 and 40 DAS) controlled the weeds most effectively and led to highest seed yield (2.23 t ha -1 ) which was statistically similar (2.19 t ha -1 ) with herbicide application. Combination effect showed that the highest seed yield (2.50 t ha -1 ) was obtained from 2 January sowing when the crop was weeded by hand at 20 and 40 DAS.