Assessing the Impact of Organic and Chemical Herbicides on Agronomic Parameters, Yield, and Weed Control Efficiency in Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) under a Direct-Seeding System: A Comparative analysis

Abstract

Lentil is characterized by low weed competitiveness due to its small size and slow development, resulting in the reduction of quality and quantity of production. Controlling these weeds with biological alternatives is necessary because lentils are phytotoxic to most herbicides. To address this gap, a field experiment was carried out at the pedagogical research farm of the National School of Agriculture in Meknes, Morocco, for two years, to evaluate the effectiveness of two weeds control strategies; chemical and agroecological. Three treatments, including a Nettle aqueous extract (T3) and two herbicides (Bentazone (T2) and Pyridate (T1)), were compared to the control (T0) in a complete randomized block design with four replications. All treatments resulted in effective weed management in terms of density and biomass, and significant improvement in agronomic parameters compared to the control. However, both herbicides used had a phytotoxic effect on the lentil plants, and the minimum yield was achieved in plots untreated (6.61Qx/ha) followed by plots treated with Pyridate. In contrast, Nettle aqueous extract had no phytotoxic effect, with the highest protein content in the lentil’s seeds, the highest economic grain, and a yield almost similar to that of Bentazone. Our study highlights the advantages of using organic Nettle treatment over herbicides for weed control, promoting sustainable agricultural practices. However, further research is needed to explore additional weed control strategies in lentil crops comprehensively.