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EFFECT OF COWPEA AS A TRAP CROP IN ROTATION FOR REDUCING THE DENSITY OF WHICHWEED (Striga asiatica L.)

,Abdulqader A. Hassan Ghazi R. Al-Kathiri
Receive Date : 2000-06-05 Accept Date : 2000-09-10
Summary

Starting from the summer season march – June 1987 up to the summer season march- June 1989, a study has been conducted to know the effect of cowpea as a trap crop in rotation for controlling striga. Four patterns of crop rotations has been runout and the cowpea was absent in one of them as a control. All the treatments planted with Sorghum in the first season while in the last season planted with sorghum also and the patterns of rotation were conducted between these seasons in order to know if there is any effect for cowpea in reducing the density of the parasitic weed (Striga asiatica L.). The results indicated that the cowpea reduced the density of the weed in the treatments that contain the cowpea as 42%, 21%, and 29% respectively compared with the first season march - June 1987 (sorghum only). The results indicated that the pattern of rotation (sorghum - sorghum as forage - cowpea - sorghum as forage - sorghum ratune cowpea - and sorghum) that repeated the cowpea twice gave the best results reducing the density of whichweed as 45%, the patterns that did not contain the cowpea. The cowpea increased the density of the whichweed as 4%. That means, the cowpea gave good result as a trap crop in reducting the whichweed as a parasitic weed.

Key Words :Control, Cowpea, Rotation, weeds, whichweed

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