Integrated Weed Management on Growth, Yield and Economics in Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench) Under Kharif

A field experiment was carried out at College Orchard, Department of Vegetable Crops, Horticultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore during 2014 to 2017 to investigate integrated weed management on growth, yield and economics in okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench) cv. COBhH 1 during kharif seasons. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with seven treatments and replicated three times. The growth and yield attributes viz., plant height, number of fruits per plant, fruit yield per plant, fruit length, fruit girth, fruit yield kg per plot and fruit yield (q/ha) differed significantly due to different treatments. Growth and yield attributes increased significantly in weed free check (T2 ) which led to appropriate timing of weeding which reduced the influence of weed interference and increased the yield in okra. The results revealed that weed free check (T2 ) recorded the higher plant height (151.80 cm), number of fruits/plant (27.30) with an average fruit yield of 0.501 g per plant, fruit length (13.53 cm), fruit girth (7.53 cm), fruit yield (233.9 q/ha) and low weed density (12.03/m2 ) at 60 days after sowing. Whereas, the high cost benefit ratio (2.88) was recorded in pre emergence of pendimethalin @ 1.0 kg/ha + one hand weeding (T4 ) which also recorded 23.36 number of fruits/plant with fruit yield of 223.0 q/ha. It is therefore recommended that pre emergence application of pendimethalin @ 1.0 kg/ha + one hand weeding will be optimal for okra production in kharif season.