Vol. 12, Issue 7 (2023)

Author(s):
Saranya Sasikumar, Rafeekher M and Sarada S

Abstract:
In two field experiments the effect of certain weed control treatments on weed growth and production of okra was studied at the farm of Department of Vegetable Science, College of Agriculture, Vellayani. Weed management is one of the major challenges farmers face in organic farming of okra cultivation which leads to a heavy dependence on mechanic tactics that are labour intensive and environmentally harmful. Organic products such as Vinegar made from coconut water and clove leaf oil is used in this experiment to evaluate their herbicidal properties and their effect in organic cultivation of okra along with other organic weed management strategies such as stale seed bed technique, mango leaf mulching and hand weeding. Among the different concentrations of vinegar used in the experiment, coconut vinegar herbicide (CVH) with 12.5 percent acetic acid was observed to be best for weed management and its herbicidal properties could be enhanced to maximum by mixing it with 4 percent clove leaf oil (Clove leaf oil herbicide- CLOH). In organic cultivation of okra, CLOH with 4 percent clove leaf oil recorded better growth and yield characters similar to that of hand weeding.