The effect of wheat straw mulch and herbicide on weeds control, yield and yield components of fennel (Foeniclum vuglare Mill) under weather conditions of Khuzestan

According to the high medicinal value of fennel (Foeniclum vuglare Mill), due to its slow growth rate and weak canopy structure, application of straw mulch and herbicide can be considered in the integrated weed management. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the different levels of wheat straw mulch and application of linuron herbicide on weed control, yield and yield components of fennel under weather conditions of Khuzestan.

An experiment was conducted as split plot based on randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications at Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan in 2019-2020 years. The main plot includes different dosage of linuron herbicide with formulation SC 45% (0, 1.5, 3 and 4.5 L/ha, equivalent to 0, 675, 1350 and 2025 g a.i/ha respectively) and the second factor was different levels of wheat straw mulch (0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 t/ha).

The results indicated that application different dosage of herbicide and different levels of mulch had a significant effect on total biomass of weeds compared to the non-application of mulch and herbicides. The highest grain yield was related to the application of herbicide application 3 L/ha with application mulch 9 ton/ha 80g/ m2). In the absence of mulch and herbicide, the lowest grain yield of fennel (18 g/m2) was obtained.

Due to the poor control efficiency of Linuron herbicide alone, the combination of herbicide with mulch can provide better weed control