Effect of Tillage and Weed Management Practices on Crop Growth and Quality Parameters of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Background: Tillage practices play a crucial role in determining soil physical properties such as structure, aeration and moisture availability which directly influence seed germination, root development and nutrient uptake in chickpea. Aims: The current study aimed to evaluate the combined effect of various tillage and weed management practices on growth indices and chlorophyll content of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) under the sub-humid conditions of Southern Rajasthan. Study Design: Split Plot design. Place and Duration of Study: Instructional Farm, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, MPUAT Udaipur; Rabi 2023-24 and 2024-25. Methodology: The experiment was conducted using a split-plot design in which four tillage practices—conventional tillage (CT), conventional tillage with residue (CT+R), zero tillage (ZT), and zero tillage with residue (ZT+R)—were allocated to the main plots, while three weed management treatments were assigned to the subplots: topramezone at 25.2 g ha⁻¹ applied post-emergence, pendimethalin at 1000 g ha⁻¹ applied pre-emergence followed by hand weeding at 40 DAS, and a weedy check. Growth parameters viz., crop growth rate (CGR), relative growth rate (RGR) and chlorophyll content were recorded at critical growth stages and analyzed statistically over two years. Results: From the results, it's evident that tillage practices did not exert a statistically significant effect (P > 0.05) on CGR, RGR or chlorophyll content of chickpea. In contrast, weed management practices significantly influenced growth indices. Pendimethalin 1000 g ha-1 as pre-emergence followed by hand weeding at 40 DAS recorded the highest CGR and RGR, which were statistically at par with Topramezone 25.2 g ha-1. No significant variation was observed in chlorophyll content due to tillage or weed management treatments across the study years. Conclusion: The findings showed that tillage practices had no significant effect on chickpea growth and quality traits, whereas weed management practices had a significant influence on overall crop performance. Application of pendimethalin 1000 g ha-¹ as pre-emergence followed by hand weeding at 40 DAS effectively reduced weed competition, leading to higher crop growth and relative growth rates. Despite these differences in growth, chlorophyll content remained statistically unchanged across treatments, reflecting stable physiological responses.