Cauliflower, Irrigation levels, Mulching, Water productivity, Weed management

Water shortage and weed infestation are major constraints in vegetable production. Micro-irrigation integrated with weed management practices is one way to maximize the yield and water productivity in crops. A field trial was conducted during Rabi seasons of 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 at the Water Management Farm of CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur to study the effect of irrigation levels and weed management practices on weeds, crop and water productivity in cauliflower. The experiment was laid out in split plot design with three irrigation levels (0.9 PE, 0.7 PE and 0.5 PE) in main plots and four weed management practices (black polythene mulch, pre-plant incorporation (PPI) of pendimethalin 1.5 kg/ha followed by (fb) hand weeding, pendimethalin 1.5 kg/ha PPI fb straw mulching and weedy check) in sub plots. The treatments were replicated thrice. The irrigation given to crop at 0.9 PE level proved to be better in terms of yield and net returns in cauliflower. Black polythene mulch resulted in efficient weed control and improving crop developmental parameters and yield attributes. There was progressive increase in weed density and biomass with increase in irrigation level, with least in lower irrigation level of 0.5PE. It is concluded that higher crop productivity and returns in cauliflower can be obtained by using black polythene mulch and irrigation applied at 0.9PE level. However, under limited water availability, the best alternative will be applying irrigation at 0.7 PE level and using black polythene mulch.