Yield, quality and weed control in soybean crop as affected by several cultural and weed management practices

In the field of Agricultural University of Athens, the effects of false seedbed technique, stale seedbed, chemical and ecologically based control on weed growth and soybean yield were evaluated (2019). The experimental treatments were: normal seedbed, normal seedbed along with pre-emergence chemical control, false seedbed, stale seedbed with glyphosate and stale seedbed with pelargonic acid. In the plots of normal seedbed along with pre-emergence chemical control, pendimethalin was applied at rate of 1560 g a.i. ha-1. In the plots of stale seedbed with glyphosate, glyphosate was applied at a rate of 2160 g a.e. ha-1 and in the plots of stale seedbed with pelargonic acid, pelargonic acid was applied at a rate of 31020 g a.i. ha-1. The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. The results revealed that stale seedbed combined either with glyphosate or pelargonic acid application reduced annual weeds’ density by 94 and 95% as compared to normal seedbed. Stale seedbed along with pelargonic acid reduced the density of perennial weeds by 36, 38 and 41% as compared to the combination of normal seedbed and pre-emergence chemical control, normal seedbed and false seedbed, respectively. The application of glyphosate in stale seedbed plots was also effective against perennial weeds. It was also observed that stale seedbed along with glyphosate increased soybean seed yield by 17, 19 and 35% as compared to the combination of normal seedbed and pendimethalin application, false seedbed and normal seedbed, respectively. Beneficial were also the effects of the combination of stale seedbed and pelargonic acid not only on soybean seed yield but also on soybean protein content. Further research is needed in order to investigate the role of false and stale seedbeds as integrated weed management practices in various crops and under different soil and climatic conditions. Research is also needed to evaluate pelargonic acid for weed control in stale seedbeds since it is an eco-friendly herbicide with no restrictions for organic farming.