Iniya Ponmozhi C.N., Kandasamy S., Thiruppathi M. and Singaravel R.
Abstract
A field experiment was conducted during the 2022 and 2023 kharif seasons at Melanur and Kilambakkam villages of Tiruvallur district, Tamil Nadu, to evaluate the combined effects of off-season land management and on-season weed management on the growth and productivity of black gram (Vigna mungo L.). The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design with four main-plot treatments of off-season land management (M: Glyphosate, M: Summer ploughing, M: Halosulfuron @ 150 g haâ¹ and M: Control) and four sub-plot treatments of on-season weed management (S: Hand weeding on 15 & 30 DAS, S: Pendimethalin @ 1 kg ha ¹ + Hand weeding on 30 DAS, S: Imazethapyr @ 50 g haâ¹ on 15 DAS + Hand weeding on 30 DAS and S: Unweeded control), replicated thrice. Results showed that the combined effect of Halosulfuron followed by Imazethapyr + Hand weeding (MS) recorded the highest values for all growth and yield attributes across both years. At 45 DAS, MS recorded the highest values of plant height (39.02 cm), branches per plant (8.34), LAI (4.59) and dry matter accumulation (2544kg haâ¹). Correspondingly, yield attributes such as pods per plant (31.30), seeds per pod (7.57), seed yield (1314 kg haâ¹) and haulm yield (1955 kg haâ¹). The lowest values were observed in the unweeded control (MS). The superior performance of MS is attributed to enhanced early crop establishment, vigorous growth and sustained weed suppression throughout the crop period. The findings emphasize that adopting Halosulfuron-based off-season land treatment in combination with Imazethapyr and strategic hand weeding can serve as an efficient, sustainable practice for maximizing yield potential in blackgram under the agro-climatic conditions of Tamil Nadu.