Mohammad Younesi Alamouti, Pouya Mohammadi and Askar Jozeyan
Abstract
Effects of different tillage practices, in special minimum tillage and conservation practices, on the weed density and crop yield in Ilam as a representative rainfed wheat growing location in the Iran, during the crop year 2012-2013. The factorial experiments were replicated at three times in a completely randomized design. Experimental treatments including tillage and planting practices are denoted as a1 (Conventional tillage; moldboard plow, disc, and centrifugal seed spreader), a2 (Chisel plowing, disc, and planting with deep drills), and a3 (conservation tillage; plowing with heavy disc on last years crop residues, and planting with deep drill) as well as weed control in two levels that denoted as b1 and b2 (weed control with and without herbicides, respectively). In the weed control treatments, a portion of each fields crops was left without herbicides as a blank, while herbicides were applied on the rest of the plants during growing. The results showed that the conservation tillage treatment increased the weed density while the weed control treatments reduced both density and dry weight of weeds by 65% and 86%, respectively.