Effect of weed management practices on weed dynamics in sweet cherry cv. Regina

The study titled "Weed Management Studies in High Density Cherry Orchard" was conducted at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Kashmir during the year 2021 and 2022, focusing on evaluating various weed management practices and their impact on weed control, tree growth, fruit yield and quality and economic viability in a high-density cherry orchard. There were fifteen treatments viz., Farmer’s Practice (T1), Clean cultivation (T2), Biodegradable mulch (400µ thickness) (T3), Bi-Colour polyethylene mulch (black inside and silver outside) (200 µ thickness) (T4), Pine needles mulch (15 cm thick) (T5), Paddy straw mulch (15 cm thick) (T6), Pendimethalin @ 2.5 L ha-1 a.i. (T7), Atrazine @ 2.0 kg ha-1 a.i. (T8), Biodegradable mulch (400 µ) followed by Paraquat @ 0.8 L ha-1 a.i. (T9), Bi-Colour polyethylene mulch (200 µ) followed by Paraquat @ 0.8 L ha-1 a.i. (T10), Paddy Straw mulch (15 cm thick) followed by Paraquat @ 0.8 L ha-1 a.i. (T11), Pine needles mulch (15 cm thick) followed by Paraquat @ 0.8 L ha-1 a.i. (T12), Pendimethalin @ 2.5 L ha-1 a.i. followed by Paraquat @0.8 L ha-1 a.i. (T13), Atrazine @ 2.0 kg ha-1 a.i. (Pre-emergence herbicide) followed by Paraquat @0.8 L ha-1 a.i. (T14) and no weeding (control) replicated thrice under Randomized complete block design. The treatments involving biodegradable mulch (T3) and bicolour polythene mulch (T4) were found to be the most effective, achieving 100% weed control efficiency. These findings suggest that the use of paddy straw mulch combined with paraquat (T11) was the most effective strategy for enhancing weed control in high-density cherry orchards.