Ramin Gholparast; Ali Ebadi; Fatemeh Ahmadnia; Mohammad Hasanzadeh; Sodabeh Jahanbakhsh Godehkahriz
Abstract
Introduction: Agricultural systems are moving towards reducing the use of chemical inputs and modifying management methods to minimize the harmful effects on the environment caused ...
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Introduction: Agricultural systems are moving towards reducing the use of chemical inputs and modifying management methods to minimize the harmful effects on the environment caused by excessive chemical use. This includes weed control, maintaining soil fertility, and addressing the increasing production costs by revising and implementing new management methods for product production. Soybeans are highly nutritious. It is important to pay attention to their production methods while maintaining food security, in line with sustainable agriculture. The use of allelopathic plants such as marigolds in intercropping with soybeans can be one of the ways to benefit from the benefits of intercropping. Therefore, a study was conducted to investigate the impact of intercropping of soybeans and marigold weeding on soybean (Glycine max L.) and marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) yield.Material and Methods: An experiment was conducted in Pars-Abad, Ardabil, in 2022. The study employed a factorial randomized complete block design with three replications. The first factor consisted of varying ratios of soybean and marigold in intercropping (0-100, 75-25, 50-50, 25-75, and 0-100). The second-factor involved hand-weeding, categorized into complete hand-weeding and non-hand weeding. Marigold seeds were sourced from the Ardabil Municipality Green Space Research Center. To prepare the seedlings, a planting mixture was created on March 30, 2022, using 20% rotten animal manure, 20% sand, and 60% fertile soil in planting trays. The spacing between and within the rows of marigolds in the experimental field was set at 40 × 40 cm. The dimensions of the experimental plots measured 8 × 4 meters. Additionally, L17 soybean seeds were obtained from the Moghan Agriculture and Industry Research Center. The seeding rate for soybeans was established at 40 kg/h, with planting intervals of 40 × 5 cm between rows.Results and Discussion: The experiment's findings concluded that the intercropping consisting of 75-25 (soybean – marigold) is the most desirable option when considering ecological indicators such as land equality ratio (LER), and relative value total (RVT). Additionally, the lowest biomass of weeds was recorded during the Vegetative growth stage in the 75-25 (soybean-marigold) and hand-weeded monoculture of soybeans. In the Soybean flowering stage, the lowest biomass was noted in both the monoculture of soybeans and marigolds without hand-weeding. During the Soybean podding stage, the lowest biomass occurred in the monoculture of soybeans and marigolds, as well as in the 25-75 (marigold -soybeans) under hand-weeding. Finally, at the soybean yield stage, the lowest biomass was observed in the monoculture of soybeans and marigolds with hand-weeding. The most desirable soybean yield and yield components, such as, the number of pods per plant, the total number of seeds per plant, the average weight of pods with seeds per plant, the seed weight per pod, and the one hundred soybean seeds weight, were achieved from the 75 -25 (soybean – marigold) intercropping. Moreover, the most desirable yield and yield components of marigold, such as the number of flowers per plant, were obtained from marigold monoculture and the 25-75 (soybean – marigold) intercropping.Conclusion: Soybeans emerged as the dominant species in intercropping with marigolds, gaining the most from this intercropping. In contrast, marigold flowers showed limited competitive ability in unweeded conditions, even though they are typically planted in high-density rows in monoculture. The results revealed that hand-weeding significantly improved the yields of both species compared to non-hand-weeding. This study underscores the importance of selecting appropriate plant species for intercropping with soybeans to maximize the benefits for both plants.
