The Effects of Weed Control and Plant Density on the Yield and Components of Mung Bean and Accompanying Weeds

Abstract

A field experiment was carried out during the spring season of 2023 at the Al-Hamidia research station of the College of Agriculture - Anbar University, with the aim of studying the effect of several weed control treatments and three plant spacing distances on the growth and yield of mung bean, its components, and the accompanying weeds. The experiment was carried out using a randomized complete block design (R.C.B.D.) in split-plot design with three replications. The main plots included the weed control treatments (Bentazon + Gallant super sprayed at the recommended rate of 2 liters ha-1 + 0.750 L-1, Bentazon + Gallant super sprayed at half the recommended rate and the same two pesticides sprayed at half the recommended rate, in addition to the weed-free treatment and the weedy treatment). While sub-plots were occupied by the plant spacing distances (10, 20 and 30 cm). The results showed a significant effect of control treatments and planting distances between plants for all studied traits, where the weed control herbicides treatment (Bentazon + Gallant super) at the recommended rate was significantly superior in reducing weed dry weight, chlorophyll index, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, weight of 100 seeds, and seed yield (39. 14 g m-2, 47.80 SPAD, 26.09 pods plant-1, 9.89 seeds pod-1, 6.62 g, 100 seeds and seed yield and 1.636 tons ha-1) respectively. The 10 cm planting distance between plants was superior in reducing weed dry weight to 68.18 g m-2 with the highest seed yield of 1.588 tons ha-1. The seed yield varied significantly depending on the treatment. The weed-free treatment with 10 cm spacing produced the highest yield (2.256 tons ha-1), followed by 2.178 tons ha-1 from the recommended rate of Bentazon + Gallant super applied half the rate with the same spacing, and 2.052 tons ha-1 from the same two herbicides, which did not differ significantly but was significantly different from the weedy treatment.