Managing weeds in clusterbean by cultural practices, time consuming, expensive and laborious. These techniques are time-consuming and financially demanding, they are effective. The utilization of selective pre-emergence herbicides like pendimethalin and its ready mixed form, is a common practice for early-stage weed control, however this allows weeds to emerge at later stages, particularly in the case of clusterbean. Hence, the current study was designed and executed during the kharif season at the Agricultural Research Station, Mandor, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India, during the rainy season of 2018. The primary objective of this study was to assess the impact of herbicides application on the yield and economics of clusterbean. The experimental design employed was a randomized block design (RBD) with three replications. The experiment consisted of ten treatments, designated as follows: W1 - weedy check, W2 - weed-free, W3 - pendimethalin at 750 g/ha as pre-emergence (PE), W4 - imazethapyr at 40 g/ha (early post-emergence), W5 - pendimethalin + imazethapyr at 750 g/ha (PE), W6 - imazethapyr + imazamox at 50 g/ha (early post-emergence), W7 - pendimethalin at 750 g/ha (PE) + 1 hand weeding (HW) at 25 days after sowing (DAS), W8 - imazethapyr at 40 g/ha (early post-emergence) + 1 HW at 35 DAS, W9 - pendimethalin + imazethapyr at 750 g/ha (PE) + 1 HW at 25 DAS, and W10 - imazethapyr + imazamox at 50 g/ha (early post-emergence) + 1 HW at 35 DAS. Among the various treatments, significantly higher seed yield was obtained with the application of imazethapyr + imazamox at 50 g/ha combined with one hand weeding at 35 DAS. This treatment also resulted in the highest net return (₹49,693/ha) and benefit-cost ratio (B:C ratio) of 3.23. Similarly, positive outcomes in terms of net return and B:C ratio were achieved with the combination of imazethapyr + imazamox at 50 g/ha + 1 HW at 35 DAS followed by imazethapyr at 40 g/ha + 1 HW at 35 DAS. These findings underscore the positive impact of certain herbicidal treatments on clusterbean yield and economic parameters.

Clusterbean, net return, profitability and yield

Early post-emergence application of imazethapyr + imazamox at 50 g/ha + 1 HW at 35 DAS recorded higher seed yield and net return of clusterbean followed by imazethapyr at 40 g/ha + 1 HW at 35 DAS.

Hitesh Borana, Ishwar Singh, UN Shukla and Moola Ram (2023). Impact of Herbicides on Yield and Economics of Clusterbean. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 15(8): 278-281.