Optimizing the chemical weed control in tomatoes
Tomatoes are a vegetable crop grown in a great number of countries around the globe including Bulgaria.
Weeds are one of the factors that limit the appropriate growth and development of the crop.
The aim of the present study was to optimize the chemical control of weeds in tomatoes.
In this regard, in 2021 and 2022 a field experiment with tomatoes, cultivar ‘Kasey’ F1, was carried out in the experimental field of the Agricultural University - Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
The experiment included the following variants: 1) untreated control (no weed management applied); 2) economic control (removal of weeds by hoeing without herbicidal treatments); 3) Smerch 24 EC (240 g L‑1 oxyfluorfen) – 1.00 L ha‑1; 4) Dual Gold 960 EC (960 g L‑1 s-metolachlor) – 1.20 L ha‑1; 5) Smerch 24 EC + Dual Gold 960 EC in rates 0.50 L ha‑1 + 0.60 L ha‑1 (applied in tank mixture); 6) Temsa SC (100 g L‑1 mesotrione) – 1.50 L ha‑1. The tested herbicides were applied to the soil before transplanting the tomatoes.
The efficacy of the studied herbicides was evaluated by the 10-score scale of the European Weed Research Society.
The selectivity was evaluated by the 9-score visual scale of European Weed Research Society.
The highest herbicidal efficacy against the weeds Portulaca oleracea L., Amaranthus retroflexus L., Solanum nigrum and Setaria viridis (L.) P. Beauv. after alone application of Smerch 24 EC in rate 1.00 L ha‑1 and the combine application of Smerch 24 EC + Dual Gold 960 EC in rates 0.50 L ha‑1 + 0.60 L ha‑1 in tank mixture was recorded.
Under the conditions of the experiment, on the 14th and 28th day after the alone application of Temsa SC in the rate of 1.50 L ha‑1, phytotoxicity on tomatoes was reported – leaf chlorosis and necrosis (score 4 by the European Weed Research Society’s scale). The highest yield of tomatoes, was reported at the economic control, followed by Smerch 24 EC – 1.00 L ha‑1 and the tank mixture of Smerch 24 EC + Dual Gold 960 EC.
Yanev, M. and Shopova, N. (2025). Optimizing the chemical weed control in tomatoes. Acta Hortic. 1416, 371-378
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2025.1416.49
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2025.1416.49
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2025.1416.49
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2025.1416.49
tomatoes, weeds, efficacy, yield
English
1416_49
371-378