Critical period of weed competition in cowpea

Abstract

Weed competition is one of the factors that limit cowpea production in the world, causing losses of up to 90% of grain yield and quality. Knowledge of the critical period of weed competition (CPC) is important to prevent significant losses of grain and resources in the production process. The objective was to determine the critical period of weed competition in the cultivation of cowpea beans, Missouri cultivar, in two sowing seasons: dry (2022B) and rainy (2023A) of warm dry Colombian Caribbean. The randomized complete block design was used with eight treatments and four repetitions. The first four treatments corresponded to manual control of weeds in the intervals 0-10, 0-20, 0-30 and 0-50 days after emergence (DAE), the second four treatments corresponded to the crop-weed coexistence, in the same intervals. Cowpea grain yield, dry mass, cover and weed community composition were evaluated. The critical period of competition of weeds in the cowpea crop for the dry and rainy seasons was 14-33 and 14-29 days after emergence, respectively. The reduction in grain yield was 65.2% in the dry season and 80.46% in the rainy season. Rottboellia cochinchinensis had the highest occurrence rate with 30.3% and a density of 90 individuals per m2; which is important for the agronomic management of the crop in the humid Caribbean subregion.