Weed competitive ability of faba bean (Vicia faba), pea (Pisum sativum), and vetch (Vicia sativa) crops under semi-arid conditions

Agricultural practices must adapt to address new climatic conditions and the rising global demand for food. Among these practices, cultivating crops resilient to various stresses while maintaining productivity—such as annual legume crops—is essential. This study aims to assess the competitive inter...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Angeliki PETRAKI, Angeliki KOUSTA, Maria GERAKARI, Eleni ABRAHAM, Demosthenis CHACHALIS
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AcademicPres 2025-03-01
Series:Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.notulaebotanicae.ro/index.php/nbha/article/view/14302
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849768539012988928
author Angeliki PETRAKI
Angeliki KOUSTA
Maria GERAKARI
Eleni ABRAHAM
Demosthenis CHACHALIS
author_facet Angeliki PETRAKI
Angeliki KOUSTA
Maria GERAKARI
Eleni ABRAHAM
Demosthenis CHACHALIS
author_sort Angeliki PETRAKI
collection DOAJ
description Agricultural practices must adapt to address new climatic conditions and the rising global demand for food. Among these practices, cultivating crops resilient to various stresses while maintaining productivity—such as annual legume crops—is essential. This study aims to assess the competitive interactions between legume crops and weeds. Field experiments were conducted using a Randomized Complete Block design with three replicates. Six weed treatments, representing the presence and absence of weeds (utilizing natural weed communities) were applied as the main plots for each of three-grain legumes: pea (Pisum sativum), faba bean (Vicia faba), and vetch (Vicia sativa), under semi-arid Mediterranean conditions. To evaluate the crops' competitive abilities, weed and crop biomass were collected at 3, 6, and 9 weeks after sowing (WAS). Additionally, pod yield was measured for each species to determine crop yield. The results indicated that faba bean exhibited the strongest growth competition, sowing: a) the smallest difference in final (9WAS) biomass between weedy and weed-free treatments compared to peas and vetch (30, 55, 57% reduction, respectively), and b) significant benefits in continuous removal of weeds in peas, vetch as compared to the no-benefits in such treatment in faba beans.  In terms of yield tolerance to weed competition, peas demonstrated the greatest resilience, followed by faba beans and vetch (24, 38, 76% reduction, respectively). The timing of the manifestation of the crops' suppressive abilities varied: in peas and vetch, there was no measurable effect on growth due to the weed competition at the early and medium stages (at 3 and 6WAS) of crop development but only at the late stage (9WAS).  Given the importance of grain legumes and the limited research on their competitive interactions with weeds, further studies are needed to promote more sustainable agricultural practices.
format Article
id doaj-art-b8be5846630e45b9aa609824c0c82549
institution DOAJ
issn 0255-965X
1842-4309
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher AcademicPres
record_format Article
series Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca
spelling doaj-art-b8be5846630e45b9aa609824c0c825492025-08-20T03:03:45ZengAcademicPresNotulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca0255-965X1842-43092025-03-0153110.15835/nbha53114302Weed competitive ability of faba bean (Vicia faba), pea (Pisum sativum), and vetch (Vicia sativa) crops under semi-arid conditionsAngeliki PETRAKI0Angeliki KOUSTA1Maria GERAKARI2Eleni ABRAHAM3Demosthenis CHACHALIS4Benaki Phytopathological Institute, Laboratory of Weed Science, 8 St. Delta, Kifisia, 14561, AthensBenaki Phytopathological Institute, Laboratory of Weed Science, 8 St. Delta, Kifisia, 14561, AthensAgricultural University of Athens, Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Biometry, 75 Iera Odos, 11855, AthensAristotle University of Thessaloniki, Forestry and Natural Environment, Thessaloniki 54124Benaki Phytopathological Institute, Laboratory of Weed Science, 8 St. Delta, Kifisia, 14561, Athens Agricultural practices must adapt to address new climatic conditions and the rising global demand for food. Among these practices, cultivating crops resilient to various stresses while maintaining productivity—such as annual legume crops—is essential. This study aims to assess the competitive interactions between legume crops and weeds. Field experiments were conducted using a Randomized Complete Block design with three replicates. Six weed treatments, representing the presence and absence of weeds (utilizing natural weed communities) were applied as the main plots for each of three-grain legumes: pea (Pisum sativum), faba bean (Vicia faba), and vetch (Vicia sativa), under semi-arid Mediterranean conditions. To evaluate the crops' competitive abilities, weed and crop biomass were collected at 3, 6, and 9 weeks after sowing (WAS). Additionally, pod yield was measured for each species to determine crop yield. The results indicated that faba bean exhibited the strongest growth competition, sowing: a) the smallest difference in final (9WAS) biomass between weedy and weed-free treatments compared to peas and vetch (30, 55, 57% reduction, respectively), and b) significant benefits in continuous removal of weeds in peas, vetch as compared to the no-benefits in such treatment in faba beans.  In terms of yield tolerance to weed competition, peas demonstrated the greatest resilience, followed by faba beans and vetch (24, 38, 76% reduction, respectively). The timing of the manifestation of the crops' suppressive abilities varied: in peas and vetch, there was no measurable effect on growth due to the weed competition at the early and medium stages (at 3 and 6WAS) of crop development but only at the late stage (9WAS).  Given the importance of grain legumes and the limited research on their competitive interactions with weeds, further studies are needed to promote more sustainable agricultural practices. https://www.notulaebotanicae.ro/index.php/nbha/article/view/14302competitive abilityfaba beangrain legumespeavetchweed control
spellingShingle Angeliki PETRAKI
Angeliki KOUSTA
Maria GERAKARI
Eleni ABRAHAM
Demosthenis CHACHALIS
Weed competitive ability of faba bean (Vicia faba), pea (Pisum sativum), and vetch (Vicia sativa) crops under semi-arid conditions
Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca
competitive ability
faba bean
grain legumes
pea
vetch
weed control
title Weed competitive ability of faba bean (Vicia faba), pea (Pisum sativum), and vetch (Vicia sativa) crops under semi-arid conditions
title_full Weed competitive ability of faba bean (Vicia faba), pea (Pisum sativum), and vetch (Vicia sativa) crops under semi-arid conditions
title_fullStr Weed competitive ability of faba bean (Vicia faba), pea (Pisum sativum), and vetch (Vicia sativa) crops under semi-arid conditions
title_full_unstemmed Weed competitive ability of faba bean (Vicia faba), pea (Pisum sativum), and vetch (Vicia sativa) crops under semi-arid conditions
title_short Weed competitive ability of faba bean (Vicia faba), pea (Pisum sativum), and vetch (Vicia sativa) crops under semi-arid conditions
title_sort weed competitive ability of faba bean vicia faba pea pisum sativum and vetch vicia sativa crops under semi arid conditions
topic competitive ability
faba bean
grain legumes
pea
vetch
weed control
url https://www.notulaebotanicae.ro/index.php/nbha/article/view/14302
work_keys_str_mv AT angelikipetraki weedcompetitiveabilityoffababeanviciafabapeapisumsativumandvetchviciasativacropsundersemiaridconditions
AT angelikikousta weedcompetitiveabilityoffababeanviciafabapeapisumsativumandvetchviciasativacropsundersemiaridconditions
AT mariagerakari weedcompetitiveabilityoffababeanviciafabapeapisumsativumandvetchviciasativacropsundersemiaridconditions
AT eleniabraham weedcompetitiveabilityoffababeanviciafabapeapisumsativumandvetchviciasativacropsundersemiaridconditions
AT demosthenischachalis weedcompetitiveabilityoffababeanviciafabapeapisumsativumandvetchviciasativacropsundersemiaridconditions