International Journal of Research in Agronomy 2024; SP-7(9): 856-859

E-ISSN: 2618-0618
P-ISSN: 2618-060X
© Agronomy Effect of weed management practices on growth and
www.agronomyjournals.com
2024; SP-7(9): 856-859 yield of rainfed castor
Received: 17-06-2024
Accepted: 28-07-2024
GM Imran, N Nalini, G Suresh and JD Saritha
GM Imran
M.Sc. Student, Department of
Agronomy, College of Agriculture,
DOI: https://doi.org/10.33545/2618060X.2024.v7.i9Sl.1615
Rajendranagar, PJTAU,
Telangana, India Abstract
A field experiment was conducted during kharif, 2023 to study the effect of different weed management
N Nalini practices on rainfed castor at Regional Agricultural Research Station, Palem. The experiment was laid out
Scientist, Department of in randomized block design with three replication and nine treatments. The results showed that a weed free
Agronomy, Regional Agricultural condition led to the highest growth and yield attributing characters in rainfed castor and highest seed yield
Research Station, Palem, (2264 kg ha-1) recorded due to higher weed control efficiency of 90.5%, reduced weed density (4.7 No. m-
Telangana, India 2) and weed dry matter (3.5 g. m-2). Among the herbicidal treatments, application of diclosulam 84% WDG

31 g a.i. ha-1 as pre-emergence (PE) followed by intercultivation with power weeder at 30 DAS and
G Suresh
diclosulam 84% WDG 31 g a.i. ha-1 as pre-emergence (PE) followed by quizalofop-p-ethyl 15% EC 50 g
Principal Scientist, ICAR-Indian
Institute of Oilseeds Research,
a.i. ha-1 as post-emergence (PoE) at 30 DAS higher seed yield par with weed free treatment. This suggests
Hyderabad, Telangana, India that these treatments are effective alternatives for achieving similar weed control and yield benefits as weed
free treatment.
JD Saritha
Assistant Professor (SSAC), Keywords: Diclosulam, quizalofo-p-ethyl, intercultivation, weed free
Agricultural Polytechnic College,
Narayanpet, Telangana, India Introduction
Castor (Ricinus communis L.) is an important non-edible, commercial oilseed crop belongs to
the Euphorbiaceae family. India is the global leader in castor production, accounting for 68% of
the world's area and 85% of its production. This is due to the crop's excellent adaptation to
India's semi-arid to sub-tropical climates and saline conditions, making it a key economic crop
in dryland farming systems. In India area and production under castor reported during 2023-24
were 10.38 lakh ha and 19.13 lakh tonnes respectively (Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers
Welfare, Government of India, 2023-24.) [9] whereas in Telangana state, castor production in
2023-24 is at 0.02 lakh tonnes from 0.02 lakh ha with productivity of 724 kg ha-1 (Directorate of
Economics and Statistics, 2023) [5]. Castor oil is used in multiple industries as raw material for
production of paints, varnishes, soaps, dyes and as a lubricant in jet engines (Copley et al., 2005:
Ramanjaneyulu et al., 2017) [3, 12]. Weeds are the major biotic stress for crop production (Yadav
and Singh, 2007) [15] which compete with crop plants for essential resources due to its
physiological nature such as longer, deeper and robust roots which enable them access water and
nutrients from deeper soil layers more effectively (Choudhary and Dixit, 2021) [2]. Castor is
vulnerable to weeds competition because of its wider planting, slow emergence which
significantly impact castor yields, with reported reductions reaching up to 73.6% (Azevedo et
al., 2006) [4]. To minimize these losses, effective weed control within the 30 to 60 days after
sowing is essential (Dungarwal et al., 2002) [6]. Hand weeding is a traditional weed control
method but it has limitations such as high cost and limited labour availability during peak
periods. Herbicides are best option which are quick in action, selective in nature, cost effective
and efficient to control weeds when applied alone or in combination with other weed control
method reduced the crop-weed competition. However, there is limited information on weed
Corresponding Author: management strategies in rainfed castor, there is a need to devise suitable and economically
GM Imran viable practices for managing weeds in castor to achieve higher levels of productivity.
M.Sc. Student, Department of
Agronomy, College of Agriculture,
Rajendranagar, PJTAU, Materials and Methods
Telangana, India The field experiment carried out at Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), Palem,

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Nagarkurnool, Telangana state during kharif, 2023. The soil DWT = Weed dry matter in treated plot
texture was sandy loam with pH of 7.7, low in organic carbon of
0.54%, low available nitrogen of 210 kg ha-1, high available Results and Discussion
phosphorus of 55.2 kg ha-1 and high available potash of 334 kg Weed flora
ha-1. The study was executed with nine treatments viz., T1- PE- The predominant weed species observed in the experimental
Diclosulam 84% WDG - 31 g a.i. ha-1 fb quizalofop-p-ethyl 5% field were, Cynodon dactylon, Echinochloa crusgalli,
EC - 50 g a.i. ha-1 as PoE at 30 DAS; T2- PE- Diclosulam 84% Echinochloa colonum (L), Digitaria cilarius, Dactyloctenium
WDG - 31 g a.i. ha-1 fb direct spraying of glufosinate aegyptium, Cyperus rotundus, Commelina bengalensis, Mollugo
ammonium 13.5% SL - 375 g a.i. ha-1 as PoE at 30 DAS; T3- nudicaulis, Trianthema portulacastrum, Euphorbia hirta,
PE- Diclosulam 84% WDG - 31 g a.i. ha-1 fb intercultivation Amaranthus viridis, Phyllanthus niruri, Lucas aspera,
with power weeder at 30 DAS; T4- PE- Pendimethalin 38.7% CS Parthenium hysterophorus, Tridax procumbens.
- 677.25 g a.i. ha-1 fb quizalofop-p-ethyl 5% EC - 50 g a.i. ha-1
as PoE 30 DAS; T5 - PE- Pendimethalin 38.7% CS - 677.25 g Weed parameters
a.i. ha-1 fb direct spraying of glufosinate ammonium 13.5% SL Among the weed control treatments, significantly lowest weed
375 g a.i. ha-1 as PoE at 30 DAS; T6 - PE- Pendimethalin 38.7% density (4.72 m-2) and dry matter (3.5 m-2) was noted in T8-
CS - 677.25 g a.i. ha-1 fb intercultivation with power weeder at weed free (4.7 No. & 3.5 g. m-2, respectively) it is on par with
30 DAS; T7 - Intercultivation with power weeder at 20 and 40 T3- diclosulam 84% WDG 31 g a.i. ha-1 PE fb intercultivation
DAS; T8 -Weed free (3 Hand weedings); T9 - Unweeded check. with power weeder at 30 DAS (5.2 m-2 & 3.8 g. m-2
Crop was sown on 15th July, 2023 with a spacing of 120 cm x 45 respectively) and T1- diclosulam 84% WDG 31 g a.i. ha-1 PE fb
cm. RDF of 80:40:30 N, P205 and K2O kg ha-1 was applied in the quizalofop-p-ethyl 15% EC 50 g a.i. ha-1 as PoE at 30 DAS (5.4
form of urea, single superphosphate and muriate of potash. m-2 & 4.1 g. m-2, respectively). Unweeded check (T9) recorded
Nitrogen was applied in three split doses (30, 60, 90 DAS) by higher weed density (11.2 m-2) and dry matter (10.2 g. m-2).
pocketing method, while the entire quantity of phosphorous and Diclosulam provides effective suppression of all category weeds
potassium were applied basally at the time of sowing. during initial stages as compared to pendimethalin. Similar was
Observations on growth and yield parameters were recorded reported by Singh et al., 2009 [13] and at later stages either
following standard procedures. Weed density was counted with intercultivation or quizalofop-p-ethyl provides effective weed
a 1 m-2 quadrant in each treatment. For weed dry matter samples control.
collected from each 1 m-2 quadrant shade dried followed by oven
drying at 600C until constant weight was obtained. Weed control Weed control efficiency
efficiency was calculated by using the formula and expressed in Significantly higher weed control efficiency recorded under
percentage (AICRPWC, 1988) [1]. The statistical analysis of data weed free treatment (90.5%) and was on par with T3- diclosulam
collected on weed and crop was done using analysis of variance 84% WDG 31 g a.i. ha-1 PE fb intercultivation with power
technique for randomized block design given by Gomez and weeder at 30 DAS (87.7%) and T1- diclosulam 84% WDG 31 g
Gomez. (1984) [4]. The original data on weed density and weed a.i. ha-1 PE fb quizalofop-p-ethyl 15% EC 50 g a.i. ha-1 as PoE at
30 DAS (85.5%). The next best treatments include T7 -
dry matter subjected to square root transformation ( ).
intercultivation with power weeder at 20 and 40 DAS (76.2%)
and T2 - diclosulam 84% WDG - 31 g a.i. ha-1 PE fb direct
spraying of glufosinate ammonium 13.5% SL - 375 g a.i. ha-1 as
PoE at 30 DAS (74.8%). This might be due to remarkable
reduction in weed density and ultimately low dry weight of
Where, weeds observed under these treatments were responsible for
DWC = Weed dry matter in un weeded control plot higher weed control efficiency.

Table 1: Effect of weed management treatments on total weed density, dry matter and WCE at 40 DAS.
Total weed Total weed dry Weed control
Treatment
density (No. m-2) matter (g m-2) efficiency (%)
T1 - PE- Diclosulam 84% WDG - 31 g a.i. ha-1 fb quizalofop-p-ethyl 5% EC - 50 g a.i. ha-1
5.4 (24.0) 4.1 (13.3) 85.5
as PoE at 30 DAS
T2 - PE- Diclosulam 84% WDG - 31 g a.i. ha-1 fb direct spraying of glufosinate ammonium
6.4 (35.1) 5.3 (23.5) 74.8
13.5% SL - 375 g a.i. ha-1 as PoE at 30 DAS
T3 - PE- Diclosulam 84% WDG - 31 g a.i. ha-1 fb intercultivation with power weeder at 30
5.2 (21.9) 3.8 (11.3) 87.7
DAS
T4 - PE- Pendimethalin 38.7% CS - 677.25 g a.i. ha-1 fb quizalofop-p-ethyl 5% EC - 50 g
7.1 (43.6) 6.2 (32.3) 65.4
a.i. ha-1 as PoE 30 DAS
T5 - PE- Pendimethalin 38.7% CS - 677.25 g a.i. ha-1 fb direct spraying of glufosinate
7.7 (52.3) 6.7 (38.5) 58.5
ammonium 13.5% SL 375 g a.i. ha-1 as PoE at 30 DAS
T6 - PE- Pendimethalin 38.7% CS - 677.25 g a.i. ha-1 fb intercultivation with power weeder
7.3 (46.7) 6.3(34.4) 62.9
at 30 DAS
T7 - Intercultivation with power weeder at 20 and 40 DAS 6.3 (34.0) 5.2 (22.0) 76.2
T8 - Weed free (3 Hand weedings) 4.7 (17.6) 3.5 (8.8) 90.5
T9 - Unweeded check 11.2 (114.0) 10.2 (93.8) 0.0
S.Em± 0.28 0.27 2.92
CD (P=0.05) 0.85 0.81 8.74
CV (%) 8.22 9.23 8.54

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Original values are given in parenthesis, which subjected for a.i. ha-1 PE fb quizalofop-p-ethyl 15% EC 50 g a.i. ha-1 as PoE at
transformation using ( ). 30 DAS. The least plant height, no. of branches, dry matter
production at harvest (7.1 cm, 3.4 plant-1 and 1687 kg ha-1,
Growth parameters respectively) was recorded in unweeded check (T9) due to the
At harvest, significantly taller plants (133 cm), higher no. of heavy competition for resources, lower internodal length, less
branches (7.5 plant-1) and dry matter production (5120 kg ha-1) translocation of photosynthates as compared to other treatments
was observed under weed free (T8) and it was on par with T3- same was reported by Patel et al. (2014) [11], Naik et al. (2016)
[10]
diclosulam 84% WDG 31 g a.i. ha-1 PE fb intercultivation with and Kowser et al. (2018) [8].
power weeder at 30 DAS and T1- diclosulam 84% WDG 31 g

Table 2: Effect of weed management treatments on growth parameters of rainfed castor at harvest
Plant height No. of branches Dry matter
Treatment
(cm) plant-1 production (kg ha-1)
T1 - PE- Diclosulam 84% WDG - 31 g a.i. ha-1 fb quizalofop-p-ethyl 5% EC - 50 g a.i. ha-1 as
125 7.3 5021
PoE at 30 DAS
T2 - PE- Diclosulam 84% WDG - 31 g a.i. ha-1 fb direct spraying of glufosinate ammonium
104 6.3 4456
13.5% SL - 375 g a.i. ha-1 as PoE at 30 DAS
T3 - PE- Diclosulam 84% WDG - 31 g a.i. ha-1 fb intercultivation with power weeder at 30
127 7.4 5054
DAS
T4 - PE- Pendimethalin 38.7% CS - 677.25 g a.i. ha-1 fb quizalofop-p-ethyl 5% EC - 50 g a.i.
102 5.4 3921
ha-1 as PoE 30 DAS
T5 - PE- Pendimethalin 38.7% CS - 677.25 g a.i. ha-1 fb direct spraying of glufosinate
87 4.8 3378
ammonium 13.5% SL 375 g a.i. ha-1 as PoE at 30 DAS
T6 - PE- Pendimethalin 38.7% CS - 677.25 g a.i. ha-1 fb intercultivation with power weeder at
98 5.3 3877
30 DAS
T7 - Intercultivation with power weeder at 20 and 40 DAS 111 6.4 4492
T8 - Weed free (3 Hand weedings) 133 7.5 5120
T9 - Unweeded check 71 3.4 1687
S.Em± 4.5 0.28 175
CD (P=0.05) 14 0.24 524
CV (%) 8.4 8.09 9.3

Yield attributes a.i. ha-1 PE fb intercultivation with power weeder at 30 DAS and
Different weed management treatments have significantly T1- diclosulam 84% WDG 31 g a.i. ha-1 PE fb quizalofop-p-ethyl
affected the yield attributes except test weight of rainfed castor 15% EC 50 g a.i. ha-1 as PoE at 30 DAS. Whereas the unweeded
(Table 3). check (T9) gave least effective spike length (25.9 cm), effective
Highest effective spike length (58.6 cm), effective no. of spikes no. of spikes (2.5 plant-1) and no. of capsules (41 spike-1). This
(6.9 plant-1) and no. of capsules (104 spike-1) recorded with was in accordance with Vaghasia and Nadiyadhara. (2016) [14].
weed free (T8) it is on par with T3- diclosulam 84% WDG 31 g

Table 3: Effect of weed management treatments on yield attributes of rainfed castor

Effective spike Effective no. of No. of capsules Test weight
Treatments
length (cm) spikes plant-1 spike-1 (g)
T1 - PE- Diclosulam 84% WDG - 31 g a.i. ha-1 fb quizalofop-p-ethyl 5% EC - 50 g
56.3 6.6 98 31.8
a.i. ha-1 as PoE at 30 DAS
T2 - PE- Diclosulam 84% WDG - 31 g a.i. ha-1 fb direct spraying of glufosinate
45.8 5.4 85 30.6
ammonium 13.5% SL - 375 g a.i. ha-1 as PoE at 30 DAS
T3 - PE- Diclosulam 84% WDG - 31 g a.i. ha-1 fb intercultivation with power
57.3 6.7 102 32.1
weeder at 30 DAS
T4 - PE- Pendimethalin 38.7% CS - 677.25 g a.i.
ha-1 fb quizalofop-p-ethyl 5% EC - 50 g a.i. 37.6 4.5 73 30.4
ha-1 as PoE 30 DAS
T5 - PE- Pendimethalin 38.7% CS - 677.25 g a.i. ha-1 fb direct spraying of
33.0 3.6 61 30.1
glufosinate ammonium 13.5% SL 375 g a.i. ha-1 as PoE at 30 DAS
T6 - PE- Pendimethalin 38.7% CS - 677.25 g a.i.
34.9 4.3 68 30.3
ha-1 fb Intercultivation with power weeder at 30 DAS
T7 - Intercultivation with power weeder at 20 and 40 DAS 48.3 5.6 87 31.6
T8 - Weed free (3 Hand weedings) 58.6 6.9 104 32.3
T9 - Unweeded check 25.9 2.5 41 29.5
S.Em± 1.73 0.27 3.5 2.2
CD (P=0.05) 5.20 0.82 10 NS
CV (%) 8.80 9.22 8.5 12.4

Seed yield (kg ha-1) diclosulam 84% WDG 31 g a.i. ha-1 PE fb intercultivation with
Significantly higher seed yield of rainfed castor was recorded power weeder at 30 DAS (2209 kg ha-1) and T1- diclosulam 84%
under T8- weed free (2264 kg ha-1), it was on par with T3- WDG 31 g a.i. ha-1 PE fb quizalofop-p-ethyl 15% EC 50 g a.i.

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ha-1 as PoE at 30 DAS (2188 kg ha-1), followed by T7- postemergence herbicides for weed control in castor crop.
intercultivation with power weeder at 20 and 40 DAS and T2- Indian J Agric Sci. 2002;72:525-527.
diclosulam 84% WDG 31 g a.i. ha-1 PE fb direct spraying of 7. Gomez KA, Gomez AA. Statistical procedures in
glufosinate ammonium 13.5% SL 375 g a.i. ha-1 as PoE at 30 agricultural research. 2nd ed. New York: Wiley; 1984. p.
DAS recorded seed yield of 1923 and 1898 kg ha-1, respectively. 96-98.
The lowest seed yield was observed in T9- unweeded check (550 8. Kowser T, Halepyati AS, Chittapur BM, Channabasavanna
kg ha-1). AS, Goud IS, Gowda B. Phytotoxicity and weed control
The increased seed yield in these treatments was due to lower efficiency of castor (Ricinus communis L.) as influenced by
weed parameters and higher weed control efficiency which weed management practices. J Pharmacogn Phytochem.
provided congenial environment for better expression of growth 2018;7(1):126-131.
and yield character. (Depicted in Fig. 1). 9. Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government
of India; c2023-24. Available from:
https://www.indiastat.com/table/agriculture/selected-state-
wise-area-production-productivity-c/1457040
10. Naik AK, Sridhara S, Sanjay MT. Pre-and post-emergent
herbicides for control of castor weeds in central dry zone of
India. Indian J Weed Sci. 2016;48(3):1-5.
11. Patel DD, Thanki JD, Usdadiya VP, Arvadia MK, Tandel
BB, Patil PA. Effect of critical period of crop-weed
competition on nutrient content and uptake by weed and
rabi castor (Ricinus communis L.). Res Crops.
2014;15(4):816-823.
12. Ramanjaneyulu AV, Anuradha G, Venkata Ramana M,
Vishnu Vardhan Reddy A, Madana Gopal N. Multifarious
uses of castor (Ricinus communis L.). Int J Econ Plants.
Fig 1: Influence of weed management treatments on weed control 2017;4(4):70−176.
efficiency and seed yield of rainfed castor 13. Singh SP, Singh VP, Nainwal RC, Tripathi N, Kumar A.
Efficacy of diclosulam on weeds and yield of soybean.
Indian J Weed Sci. 2009;41(3&4):170-173.
Conclusion 14. Vaghasia PM, Nadiyadhara MV. Influence of pre and post-
Among all the weed management treatments weed free recorded emergence herbicides in castor (Ricinus communis L.). Res
lower weed density, drymatter at 40 DAS and higher weed Crops. 2016;17(1):68-72.
control efficiency which led to improved growth and yield 15. Yadav JS, Singh B. Optimization of castor production under
attributes and it was on par with diclosulam 84% WDG 31 g a.i. resource constraints. In: Biennial Conference on New and
ha-1 PE fb intercultivation with power weeder at 30 DAS (T3) Emerging Issues in Weed Science; CCS Haryana
and diclosulam 84% WDG 31 g a.i. ha-1 PE fb quizalofop-p- Agricultural University, Hisar; c2007 Nov 2-3.
ethyl 15% EC 50 g a.i. ha-1 as PoE at 30 DAS (T1). Diclosulam 16.
effectively controls the weeds at earlier stages of crop growth as
compared to pendimethalin and at later stages wider window of
weed control caused by the either intercultivation or spraying of
quizalofop-p-ethyl as post emergence. Based on results it can be
suggested that pre emergence application of diclosulam fb either
intercultivation or quizalofop-p-ethyl as postemergence can be
used for effective weed control in the rainfed castor.

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