| Summary: | Weed Competition in Cotton Crop : Effect of Hoe-Weeding on Biomass and Yield. A hoe-weeding experiment was conducted in 1996, to evaluate the impact of weeds interference on biomass and cotton yield in Sekou (south of Benin). The most common and abundant weeds observed are : Cyperus rotundus, Celosia trygina, Synedrella nodiflora, Commelina benghalensis, Croton lobatus and Panicum maximum. When weeds were left to grow during ail the season, they reduced significantly the biomass (dry matter weight) of cotton by 42 %, 47 % and 58 % respectively in comparison with crop weeded 1 ; 2 or 5 times. But there is no significant difference between the biomass of the weeded plots. Although no effect on biomass was visible at 7 weeks after sowing, it appears later in the season that the number of hoeing affected the cotton yield. A possible explanation is that the weeds had removed sufficient quantifies of nutrients from the sol to deprive the cotton of these nutrients when required later in the season.
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