Effects of Various Soil Tillage and Herbicide Applications on Yield and Weeds in Chickpea Production

The effects of various tillage methods and herbicide applications on crop yield and broadleaf weeds in chickpea production were investigated. For this reason, a 3-year (2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23 chickpea growing season) field experiment was conducted in Diyarbakır region, Türkiye. The experiments were laid out in split-plot design with three replications, in which tillage methods [moldboard plow+cultivator (MP+C), disc harrow+cultivator (DH+C) and cultivator (C)] were main plots, and herbicide applications [pre-emergence (Pre), post-emergence (Post), pre-emergence+post-emergence (Pre+Post), Weed-free check, weedy check] were sub-plots. The higher grain yield was observed under MP+C than DH+C and C treatments although the difference among tillage treatments was not significant in the 2020-21 and 2022-23 production seasons. Among the herbicide applications, the highest grain yield was found at the pre-emergence herbicide treatment following the weed-free check plots. When the treatments were evaluated in terms of their effects on weed observations, it was observed that tillage with moldboard plow and pre-emergence herbicide application were more effective in controlling weeds.