Three field trials, one for establishment and two for mature phases respectively, were conducted to develop weed management strategies for cashew cultivation in Ghana. The treatments for the establishment phase consis...Three field trials, one for establishment and two for mature phases respectively, were conducted to develop weed management strategies for cashew cultivation in Ghana. The treatments for the establishment phase consisted of hoe weeding of whole plot, hoe weeding of cashew lines and slashing of inter-rows, herbicide application with glyphosate of whole plot or cashew lines with slashing of inter-rows, relay cropping of the cashew plot with sorghum and a legume and intercropping with a legume. In one trial of the mature phase, the treatments were hoe weeding of whole plot two or three times a year, high slashing of whole plot three times a year, herbicide application （glyphosate） of whole plot and ring application of herbicide （glyphosate） plus high slashing of inter-rows twice a year. In the other trial, which was carried out on farmers＇ fields, glyphosate （Roundup） at 2.0 l/ha was tested against manual slashing. In the study of the establishment phase, neither the girth nor height of the cashew seedlings was significantly affected by the treatments. The first year and four year cumulative cashew yields were significantly affected by treatments with the intercrops giving higher yields than the glyphosate-treated plots. Intercropping as a weed control measure was generally more costly than glyphosate application or manual weeding. In the mature trials, chemical weed control slightly improved cashew nut yield and was cheaper to apply. It is recommended to adopt chemical weed control in cashew cultivation in Ghana.展开更多
文摘Three field trials, one for establishment and two for mature phases respectively, were conducted to develop weed management strategies for cashew cultivation in Ghana. The treatments for the establishment phase consisted of hoe weeding of whole plot, hoe weeding of cashew lines and slashing of inter-rows, herbicide application with glyphosate of whole plot or cashew lines with slashing of inter-rows, relay cropping of the cashew plot with sorghum and a legume and intercropping with a legume. In one trial of the mature phase, the treatments were hoe weeding of whole plot two or three times a year, high slashing of whole plot three times a year, herbicide application （glyphosate） of whole plot and ring application of herbicide （glyphosate） plus high slashing of inter-rows twice a year. In the other trial, which was carried out on farmers＇ fields, glyphosate （Roundup） at 2.0 l/ha was tested against manual slashing. In the study of the establishment phase, neither the girth nor height of the cashew seedlings was significantly affected by the treatments. The first year and four year cumulative cashew yields were significantly affected by treatments with the intercrops giving higher yields than the glyphosate-treated plots. Intercropping as a weed control measure was generally more costly than glyphosate application or manual weeding. In the mature trials, chemical weed control slightly improved cashew nut yield and was cheaper to apply. It is recommended to adopt chemical weed control in cashew cultivation in Ghana.
