THE EFFECT OF CONVENTIONAL AND REDUCED TILLAGE SYSTEMS ON GRAIN YIELD AND WEED SPECIES DENSITY IN COMMON VETCH (VICIA SATIVA L.) PRODUCTION

The presence of weed species and their densities in agricultural fields are influenced significantly by tillage and planting methods. This study determined the effects of tillage systems on grain yield and weed species density in common vetch production following the harvest of a prior crop of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). We compared conventional [moldboard plough + cultivator (two times) + drill] and reduced [cultivator (two times) + drill] tillage treatments using a random block design with four replications. We identified 23 and 24 different weed species belonging to 11 and 10 different weed families in the reduced tillage and conventional tillage plots, respectively. The weed density ranged from 1 to 56 plants m^–2. The weed species that was present at the highest density was Sinapis arvensis. The effects of the tillage treatments on weed density differed among the weed species. Sorghum halepense had the highest density under the reduced tillage method, while the S. arvensis density increased under the conventional tillage treatment. The seed yield of common vetch was not affected significantly by the tillage methods.