Effect of clover cover crop on weed management, growth, and yield of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.)

Articles in Press

Document Type : scientific research article

Authors

1 Dept. of Plant Genetics and Production, campus of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Razi University

2 Seed and Plant Improvement Institute, Agricultural Research Education and Extension

10.22069/jopp.2025.22754.3179

Abstract

Background and objectives:

Quinoa is a plant from the Amaranthaceae family, which is currently being proposed as an alternative product for plants with high water consumption due to its high nutritional value and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, especially drought and salinity. Weeds are one of the limiting factors for the growth and development of quinoa and they directly affect the performance of the plant in the competition for the absorption of water, light, and nutrient resources. One of the important factors in the weed suppression mechanism of this product is the non-chemical control of weeds using cover crops.

Materials and methods:

In order to investigate the effect of cover crops on the control of weeds in quinoa, an experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications at the farms of the Research Institute of Breeding and Preparation of Seed Seedlings during 2022-2023. Treatments included the cultivation of cover crops of Berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.), Persian clover (Trifolium resupinatum L.), and crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.), Persian clover + Berseem clover, Persian clover + crimson clover and Berseem clover + crimson clover, no cover crop weed-free, no cover crop weed-infest. The cover crops were returned to the soil at the stage of 25% flowering.

Results:

The results showed that the amount of weed control in the treatments of Persian clover + Berseem clover, Berseem clover + crimson clover, Persian clover + crimson clover, Berseem clover, Persian clover, and crimson clover compared to the control treatment (no cover crop -weed free) is 64, 60, 58, 53, 44 and It was 36 percent. The highest dry weight of total weeds at the rate of 219 gr.m-2 was related to the control treatment (no cover crop -weed infest) and the lowest dry weight of total weeds at the rate of 39 gr.m-2 was related to the mixed treatment of Persian clover + Berseem clover. The highest seed yield was observed in the control treatment (no cover crop-weed free) and Persian clover + Berseem clover with an average of 4600 and 3500 kg.ha-1, respectively. The lowest yield of quinoa seed (64.64 g/m2) and the highest yield (288.68 g/m2) are related to the control treatment (no cover crop -weed infest) and control treatment (no cover crop -weed free), respectively.

Conclusion:

Overall results showed that the clover cover crop was not only not competing with quinoa, but it was able to increase the yield compared to the control treatment (no cover crop-weed infest).

Keywords

Main Subjects

Journal of Plant Production Research

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 13 February 2025

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics