Influence of Integrated Weed Management Practices on Growth, Yield and Seedling Quality of Chilli

Abstract

Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) is vulnerable to early weed competition because of its slow initial growth and wider spacing, which can adversely affect crop growth, yield and subsequent seed quality. The experiment evaluated nine integrated weed-management treatments comprising herbicide application, mulching, hand weeding, weed-free and weedy checks in a randomised block design with three replications. Significant treatment effects were observed for most growth, yield and seedling-quality traits. T4, consisting of a stale seed bed treated with glyphosate at 1.00 kg ai/ha followed by one hand weeding at 40 DAT, recorded the maximum plant height (88.6 cm). Black polythene mulch (T5) and straw mulch (T6) recorded the maximum number of branches (3.4). T5 produced the highest number of fruits per plant (181.9), seeds per pod (86.4), seed yield per plant (97.4 g) and ripe fruit yield (104.0 q/ha). The weed-free check (T8) recorded 97.3% germination, a shoot length of 5.4 cm, a root length of 5.9 cm, SVI-I of 1106.2 and SVI-II of 60.4. T5 and T6 were generally comparable with the weed-free check for several important yield and seedling-quality parameters. The findings indicate that effective weed suppression through mulching or weed-free management can support chilli productivity and seedling vigour under the conditions of this experiment.