IMPACT OF VARIOUS ORGANIC AND CULTURAL PRACTICES ON YIELD AND WEED MANAGEMENT IN OKRA (Abelmoschusesculanta L.).

Weed management in okra is one of the challenging and expensive steps that ultimately result in reducing the productivity. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the impact of various organic and cultural practices on yield and weed management in okra at the Agronomy Research Farm of The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan during spring season 2021 in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). The following treatments were applied in the trial. Parthenium(Partheniumhysterophorus) weed extraction (120g.L^-1), Coco grass (Cyperusrotundus) weed extraction (120g.L^-1), Field bind weed (Convolvulus arvensis) weed extraction (120g.L^-1), mulching (Eucalyptus leaves), mulching (News Paper), hand weeding (Once) 20 days after sowing (DAS), hand weeding (Twice) 20 &40 DAS, and a weedy check. Results showed that all the studied parameters of okra crop except the number of flowers per plant were significantly affected by the applied treatments. Maximum weed fresh biomass (143.3g), weed dry biomass (42.2g), plant height (64.2cm), number of branches per plant (11), fruit length (11.73 cm), fruit diameter (1.8 cm) and yield (3246.6kg. ha^-1) were noted in hand weeding (Twice) 20- & 40DAS followed by hand weeding (Once) 20 DAS; how ever, minimum values were noted in weedy check treatment, except weed density which was found maximum in weedy check plots. In conclusion, hand weeding twice 20 & 40 DAS is recommended in order to get best yields of okra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]