Integrated Effects of Tillage and Sunflower–Mung Bean Intercropping on Weed Management and Productivity

Haroon Ur Rasheed; Muhammad Zubair; Muhammad Jawad Bin Ashraf; Rida Nisar; Samar Hayat

Integrated Effects of Tillage and Sunflower–Mung Bean Intercropping on Weed Management and Productivity

Authors

Haroon Ur Rasheed Department of Agronomy, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Muhammad Zubair Department of Botany, University of Science and Technology Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Muhammad Jawad Bin Ashraf Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan
Rida Nisar Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Samar Hayat Department of Agronomy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan

Keywords:

Tillage, , Intercropping, , Weed suppression, , Sunflower yield, , Land Equivalent Ratio

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the integrated effects of tillage practices and sunflower–mung bean intercropping on weed suppression, crop productivity, and land-use efficiency in a semi-arid environment. A field experiment was conducted at Faisalabad using two tillage systems (deep tillage and conventional tillage) combined with sole sunflower and sunflower–mung bean intercropping arrangements. Weed density and weed dry biomass were recorded at different crop growth stages, while yield attributes of sunflower and mung bean, along with land equivalent ratio (LER), were used to assess system productivity. Results showed that deep tillage significantly reduced weed density (23.4 plants m⁻²) and weed dry biomass (118.6 g m⁻²) compared with conventional tillage (31.7 plants m⁻² and 156.8 g m⁻², respectively). Intercropping sunflower with mung bean further enhanced weed suppression, lowering weed density to 21.8 plants m⁻² and weed dry biomass to 110.4 g m⁻² compared with sole sunflower. The combined effect of deep tillage and sunflower–mung bean intercropping produced the highest sunflower seed yield (3.28 t ha⁻¹), representing a 27% increase over sole sunflower under conventional tillage (2.58 t ha⁻¹). Although the sole sunflower produced a higher individual crop yield, intercropping systems demonstrated superior overall productivity. The sunflower–mung bean intercropping system with double-row sunflower at 90 cm spacing and three rows of mung bean achieved the highest land-use efficiency (LER = 1.68), followed by sunflower at 60 cm intercropped with two rows of mung bean (LER = 1.66). Overall, the study demonstrates that integrating deep tillage with sunflower–mung bean intercropping is a sustainable agronomic strategy that enhances weed suppression, improves land productivity, and reduces reliance on chemical weed control.

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Integrated Effects of Tillage and Sunflower–Mung Bean Intercropping on Weed Management and Productivity