Impact of sunflower (Helianthus annuus) residue levels on characteristics of weed population and yield and yield components of chickpea (Cicer arietinum)

Document Type : Original Articles

Authors

Ferodwsi University of Mashhad

Abstract

Introduction
Weeds deprive the crop plants from limited available nutrients, space, light, and moisture. Hence, the physiological activities and growth of crops are negatively affected in the presence of weeds. Ultimately, poor crop productivity is the result of weed-crop competition. Allelopathy is primarily based on the ability of certain plant species to produce secondary chemical compounds, which exert some sorts of biological ef fects on other organisms (Waller, 2004). It is biochemical interaction between individuals and ecological communities systems. Allelopathic compounds are released into the soil through root exudation, leaching by dews and rains, volatilization and decaying different plant tissues in soil (Rice, 1984). The transport of allelochemicals to target weed species is facilitated by microorganisms. Allelochemicals also, promote the activities of soil microbes, which pose a positive effect on crop plants. In many cases, these compounds inhibit the germination or growth of neighboring plants (Ebana et al., 1981) and affect plant populations (Chase et al., 1991).
Sunflower contains water-soluble allelochemicals that inhibit the germination and growth of other species (Sadeghi et al., 2010), and could be used in weed management programs. Orooji et al. (2008) evaluated allelopathic potential of sunflower on redroot pigweed and common lambsquarter in the laboratory and greenhouse experiments. Ashrafi et al. (2008b) studied the allelopathic effects of sunflower on germination and growth of wild barley.
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is the third most important legume worldwide. It is predominantly grown as a post-rainy season crop on conserved soil moisture and experiences progressive terminal drought stress with varying intensity. Chickpea is a weak competitor against weeds and availability of post–emergence herbicides particularly against broad-leaf weeds is limited (Solh & Palk, 1990).

Materials and Methods
In order to study the effect of sunflower residue levels on population, density, dry weight and diversity of weeds and yield components, biological yield and grain yield of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), an experiment was performed based on a randomized complete block design with four replications at the Agricultural Research Station, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad during 2013. Treatments included application of zero, 625, 1250, 1875 and 2500 kg.ha-1 sunflower residues. Traits such as density, dry weight and Shannon-Wiener diversity index of weeds at two sampling stages, height of main stem, distance of first pod to soil surface, number of branches, pods and 100-seed weight, biological yield and grain yield of chickpea were measured.

Results and Discussion
The results indicated that 14 weed species belong to 10 families were observed at two sampling stages. Poaceae was the most dominant family amongst these. The effect of sunflower residue levels was significant (p≤0.01) on weed density and dry weight and Shannon-Wiener diversity index at two sampling stages. Increasing the residue level considerably declined the density and dry weight of weeds. At the first and second sampling stages, the lowest Shannon-Wiener index was recorded at 2500 kg sunflower residue ha-1 with 0.2 and 0.03, respectively. Moreover, growth characteristics, yield components and yield of chickpea were significantly affected by sunflower residue levels (p≤0.01). The maximum biological yield and grain yield were observed in 2500 kg.ha-1 sunflower residue with 237.9 and 97.2 kg.ha-1, respectively. It seems that the application of increased residue levels of sunflower through decreasing weed growth and improvement of soil characteristics has resulted in an enhanced growth and yield of chickpea. So, in order to achieve the principles of sustainable agriculture, the application of sunflower residues could be considered for weed control and yield enhancement of chickpea as an important and valuable legume.

Conclusions
Allelopathic crops express their allelopathic activity through exudation of allelochemicals. Growing allelopathic crop may become an important way to suppress weeds, especially So the use of allelopathic plant residues as mulches are important ways that can be practiced for economical, environment friendly weed management in agricultural systems. The allelopathic potential of crops is desired to be strengthened using conventional and modern plant breeding techniques.

Keywords


1. Akintoye, H.A., Agbeyi, E.O., and Olaniyan, A.B. 2005. The effect of live mulches on tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) yield under tropical conditions. J. Sustain Agric. 26: 27-37.
2. Bernat, W., Gawronska, H.F., and Janowiak, S.W. 2004. The effect of sunflower allelopathics on germination and seedlings vigor of wheat and mustard. Zeszo porobt. Post. Nauk roln. 496: 289-299
3. Cecile, B., Xiaohan, Y., and Leslie, A.W. 2003. The role of root exudates and allelochemicals in the rhizosphere. Plant and Soil 256: 67-83.
4. Clapp, C.E., Allmaras, R.R., Layese, M.F., Linden, D.R., and Dowdy, R.H. 2000. Soil organic carbon and 13-C abundance as related to tillage, crop residue, and nitrogen fertilizer under continuous corn management in Minnesota. Soil Till. Res. 55: 127-142.
5. Connick, W.J., Bradow, J.M., and Legendre, M. 1989. Identification and bioactivity of volatile allelochemicals from amaranth residues. J. Agric. Food Chem. 37: 792-796.
6. Dahiya, R., Ingwersen, J., and Streck, T. 2007. The effect of mulching and tillage on water and temperature regimes of a loess soil: experimental findings and modeling. Soil Till Res. 96: 52-63.
7. Dayan, F.E., Cantrell, C.L., and Duke, S.O. 2009. Natural products in crop protection. Bioorg Med. Chem. 17: 4022-4034.
8. Edwards, J.H., Wood, C.W., Thurlow, D.L., and Ruf, M.E. 1992. Tillage and crop rotation effects on fertility status of a hapludult soil. Soil Sci. Soci. Ame. J. 56: 1577-1582.
9. Elahi, S., Sadrabadi Haghighi, R., and Alimoradi, L. 2010. Evaluation of special, functional and structural diversity of weeds community in pistachios (Pistacia vera L.) orchards of Bardaskan County. Agroecology 2(4): 574- 586. (In Persian with English Summery).
10. FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization). 2012. FAOSTAT database for agriculture. Available online at: http://faostat.fao.org/faostat/collection?subset=agriculture.
11. Gaur, P.M., Tripathi, S., Gowda, C.L.L., Ranga Rao, G.V., Sharma, H.C., Pande, S., and Sharma, M. 2010. Chickpea Seed Production Manual. Patancheru 502 324, Andhra Pradesh, India: International Crops Res. Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics. 28 pp.
12. Ghiazdowsk, A., Oracz, K., and Bogatek, R. 2007. Phytotogenic effect of Sunflower leaf extracts on germinating mustard seeds. Allelo J. 19(1): 54.
13. Ghorbani, R., Khorramdel, S., Asadi, G.A., and African, R. 2014. Evaluation the effect of weed management strategies on dynamic of seed bank and spinach yield. Iran. J. Crop Prod. In Press. (In Persian with English Summary).
14. Glab, T., and Kulig. B. 2008. Effect of mulch and tillage system on soil porosity under wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Soil Till Res. 99: 169-178
15. Gliessman, S.R. 1997. Agroecology: Ecological Processes in Sustainable Agriculture. Arbor Press 357 pp.
16. Hosseini, M., Zamani, G.R., Mohammad Alizadeh, H., and Eslami, S.V. 2011. Evaluation effect of different wheat residue and sunflower densities on growth and yield of sunflower. Electronic J. Crop Prod. 4(3): 37-53. (In Persian with English Summery).
17. Hudu, A.I., Futuless, K.N., and Gworgwor, N.A. 2002. Effect of mulching intensity on the growth and yield of irrigated tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) and weed infestation in semi- arid zone of Nigeria. J. Sus Agric. 21(1): 37-45.
18. Koeppe, D.E., Southwick, L.M., and Bittell, J.E. 1976. The relationship of tissue chlorogenic acid concentrations and leaching of phenolics from sunflowers grown under varying phosphate nutrient conditions. Can. J. Bot. 54: 593-599.
19. Kumar, K., and Goh, K.M. 2000. Crop residues and management practices: effects on soil quality, soil nitrogen dynamics, crop yield and nitrogen recovery. Adv. Agron. 68: 197-319.
20. Martens, D.A. 2000. Plant residue biochemistry regulates soil carbon cycling and carbon sequestration. Soil Biol. Biochem. 32: 361-369.
21. Menalled, F., Gross, K., and Hammond, M. 2001.Weed aboveground and seed bank community responses to agricultural management systems. Ecological Applications, 11: 1586-1601.
22. Ngouagio, M., and Mennan, H. 2005. Weed populations and pickling cucumber (Cucumis sativus) yield under summer and winter cover crop systems. Crop Protec. 24: 521-526.
23. Noruzzadeh, S., Rashed Mohasel, M.H., Nassiri Mahallati, M., Koocheki, A., and Abbas Pour, M. 2009. Evaluation of species, functional and structural diversity of weeds in wheat fields of Northern, Southern and Razavi Khorasan provinces. Iran J. Field Crops Res. 6: 471-485. (In Persian with English Summery).
24. Orooji, K., Khazaei, H.R., Rashed Mahasel, M.H. Ghorbani, R., and Azizi, M. 2008. Allelopathic effects of sunflower (Helianthus annuus) on germination and initial growth of redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus) and common lambsquarter (Chenopodium album). J. Plant Prot. 22(2): 119-128. (In Persian with English Summary).
25. Putnam, A.R., and Defrank, J. 1983. Use of phytotoxic plant residues for selective weed control. Crop Prot. 2: 173.
26. Sandhu, K. 1997. Allelopathic Interactions of Crops. Final Technical Report. US-India Fund. Ludhiana, India.
27. Schonbeck, W.M., and Evanylo, G.K. 1998a. Effects of mulches on soil properties and tomato production I. Soil temperature, soil moisture and marketable yield. J. Sus Agric. 13(1): 55-81.
28. Seyed Sharifi, R., Farzaneh, S., and Seyed Sharifi, R. 2007. Comparison of chemical control and allelopathic effect of weeds in chickpea under rainfed conditions. Iran. J. Biol. 20(4): 334-343. (In Persian with English Summary).
29. Teasdale, J.R., Beste, C.E., and Potts, W.E. 1991. Response of weeds to tillage and cover crops residue. Weed Sci. 39: 195-199.
30. Walters, S.A. 2008. Production method and cultivar effects on garlic over-wintering survival, bulb quality, and yield. Hort. Tech. 286-289.
31. Wilson, R.E., and Rice, E.L. 1968. Allelopathy as expressed by Helianthus annuus and its role in old field succession. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 95: 432-44.
CAPTCHA Image