Abstract
ABSTRACT This study investigates the impact of conservation agriculture (CA) and weed management (WM) practices on the productivity, profitability, soil health, and sustainability of a maize–sunflower cropping system. A strip plot design with 15 treatment combinations was employed, involving 5 tillage methods and three weed control strategies. Five treatments were imposed across kharif (maize) and rabi (sunflower): CT–CT, CT–ZT, ZTR–ZT, ZT–ZTR, and ZTR–ZTR, representing different combinations of conventional tillage, zero tillage, and residue retention practices. The ZTR–ZTR treatment combined with WM consistently achieved lower weed density and dry weight, alongside higher weed control efficiency (>70% at 45 DAS), resulting in significantly improved crop productivity and profitability. This combination also enhanced soil microbial populations (bacteria: 22.7 × 10 6 CFU/g, fungi: 17.2 × 10 4 CFU/g, actinomycetes: 29.5 × 10 5 CFU/g) and enzymatic activities (alkaline phosphatase, urease, and dehydrogenase). WM alone also improved microbial and enzymatic parameters compared to herbicide‐only and unweeded treatments. Herbicide dissipation (pendimethalin and atrazine) followed first‐order kinetics ( R 2 > 0.94), with >80% degradation observed within 30 and 45 days after herbicide application, respectively. These findings indicate that practicing zero tillage combined with residue retention and weed management enhances agroecosystem sustainability, improves soil biological health, and supports efficient and environmentally sound weed control in maize–sunflower systems.
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Claims 12
Claim · model-written summary
ZTR–ZTR with weed management lower weed density.
- Taxon
- Maize–Sunflower
Helianthus annuus
Zea mayst0 - Treatment
- ZTR–ZTR treatment combined with WMe0
- Outcome
- weed densitye0
- Direction
- lowere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The ZTR–ZTR treatment combined with WM consistently achieved lower weed density and dry weight, alongside higher weed control efficiency (>70% at 45 DAS), resulting in significantly improved crop productivity and profitability.”
t0“Conservation Agriculture Effects on Soil Health, Weeds, and Productivity in a Maize–Sunflower System”
Claim · model-written summary
ZTR–ZTR with weed management lower dry weight.
- Taxon
- Maize–SunflowerHelianthus annuusZea mayst0
- Treatment
- ZTR–ZTR treatment combined with WMe0
- Outcome
- dry weighte0
- Direction
- lowere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The ZTR–ZTR treatment combined with WM consistently achieved lower weed density and dry weight, alongside higher weed control efficiency (>70% at 45 DAS), resulting in significantly improved crop productivity and profitability.”
t0“Conservation Agriculture Effects on Soil Health, Weeds, and Productivity in a Maize–Sunflower System”
Claim · model-written summary
ZTR–ZTR with weed management higher weed control efficiency.
- Taxon
- Maize–SunflowerHelianthus annuusZea mayst0
- Treatment
- ZTR–ZTR treatment combined with WMe0
- Outcome
- weed control efficiencye0
- Direction
- highere0
- Value
- >70%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The ZTR–ZTR treatment combined with WM consistently achieved lower weed density and dry weight, alongside higher weed control efficiency (>70% at 45 DAS), resulting in significantly improved crop productivity and profitability.”
t0“Conservation Agriculture Effects on Soil Health, Weeds, and Productivity in a Maize–Sunflower System”
Claim · model-written summary
ZTR–ZTR with weed management improved crop productivity.
- Taxon
- Maize–SunflowerHelianthus annuusZea mayst0
- Treatment
- ZTR–ZTR treatment combined with WMe0
- Outcome
- crop productivitye0
- Direction
- improvede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The ZTR–ZTR treatment combined with WM consistently achieved lower weed density and dry weight, alongside higher weed control efficiency (>70% at 45 DAS), resulting in significantly improved crop productivity and profitability.”
t0“Conservation Agriculture Effects on Soil Health, Weeds, and Productivity in a Maize–Sunflower System”
Claim · model-written summary
ZTR–ZTR with weed management improved profitability.
- Taxon
- Maize–SunflowerHelianthus annuusZea mayst0
- Treatment
- ZTR–ZTR treatment combined with WMe0
- Outcome
- profitabilitye0
- Direction
- improvede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The ZTR–ZTR treatment combined with WM consistently achieved lower weed density and dry weight, alongside higher weed control efficiency (>70% at 45 DAS), resulting in significantly improved crop productivity and profitability.”
t0“Conservation Agriculture Effects on Soil Health, Weeds, and Productivity in a Maize–Sunflower System”
Claim · model-written summary
ZTR–ZTR with weed management enhanced soil bacteria populations.
- Taxon
- Maize–SunflowerHelianthus annuusZea mayst0
- Treatment
- This combinatione0
- Outcome
- bacteriae0
- Direction
- enhancede0
- Value
- 22.7 × 10 6 CFU/ge0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“This combination also enhanced soil microbial populations (bacteria: 22.7 × 10 6 CFU/g, fungi: 17.2 × 10 4 CFU/g, actinomycetes: 29.5 × 10 5 CFU/g) and enzymatic activities (alkaline phosphatase, urease, and dehydrogenase).”
t0“Conservation Agriculture Effects on Soil Health, Weeds, and Productivity in a Maize–Sunflower System”
Claim · model-written summary
ZTR–ZTR with weed management enhanced soil fungi populations.
- Taxon
- Maize–SunflowerHelianthus annuusZea mayst0
- Treatment
- This combinatione0
- Outcome
- fungie0
- Direction
- enhancede0
- Value
- 17.2 × 10 4 CFU/ge0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“This combination also enhanced soil microbial populations (bacteria: 22.7 × 10 6 CFU/g, fungi: 17.2 × 10 4 CFU/g, actinomycetes: 29.5 × 10 5 CFU/g) and enzymatic activities (alkaline phosphatase, urease, and dehydrogenase).”
t0“Conservation Agriculture Effects on Soil Health, Weeds, and Productivity in a Maize–Sunflower System”
Claim · model-written summary
ZTR–ZTR with weed management enhanced soil actinomycetes populations.
- Taxon
- Maize–SunflowerHelianthus annuusZea mayst0
- Treatment
- This combinatione0
- Outcome
- actinomycetese0
- Direction
- enhancede0
- Value
- 29.5 × 10 5 CFU/ge0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“This combination also enhanced soil microbial populations (bacteria: 22.7 × 10 6 CFU/g, fungi: 17.2 × 10 4 CFU/g, actinomycetes: 29.5 × 10 5 CFU/g) and enzymatic activities (alkaline phosphatase, urease, and dehydrogenase).”
t0“Conservation Agriculture Effects on Soil Health, Weeds, and Productivity in a Maize–Sunflower System”
Claim · model-written summary
The combination enhanced soil alkaline phosphatase, urease and dehydrogenase activities.
- Taxon
- Maize–SunflowerHelianthus annuusZea mayst0
- Treatment
- This combinatione0
- Outcome
- enzymatic activities (alkaline phosphatase, urease, and dehydrogenase)e0
- Direction
- enhancede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“This combination also enhanced soil microbial populations (bacteria: 22.7 × 10 6 CFU/g, fungi: 17.2 × 10 4 CFU/g, actinomycetes: 29.5 × 10 5 CFU/g) and enzymatic activities (alkaline phosphatase, urease, and dehydrogenase).”
t0“Conservation Agriculture Effects on Soil Health, Weeds, and Productivity in a Maize–Sunflower System”
Claim · model-written summary
Weed management alone improved microbial and enzymatic parameters relative to herbicide-only and unweeded treatments.
- Taxon
- Maize–SunflowerHelianthus annuusZea mayst0
- Treatment
- WM alonee0
- Outcome
- microbial and enzymatic parameterse0
- Direction
- improvede0
- Comparator
- herbicide‐only and unweeded treatmentse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“WM alone also improved microbial and enzymatic parameters compared to herbicide‐only and unweeded treatments.”
t0“Conservation Agriculture Effects on Soil Health, Weeds, and Productivity in a Maize–Sunflower System”
Claim · model-written summary
pendimethalin degradation exceeded 80% within 30 days after application.
- Taxon
- Maize–SunflowerHelianthus annuusZea mayst0
- Outcome
- Herbicide dissipatione0
- Value
- >80%e0
- Qualifier
- 30 and 45 dayse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Herbicide dissipation (pendimethalin and atrazine) followed first‐order kinetics ( R 2 > 0.94), with >80% degradation observed within 30 and 45 days after herbicide application, respectively.”
t0“Conservation Agriculture Effects on Soil Health, Weeds, and Productivity in a Maize–Sunflower System”
Claim · model-written summary
atrazine degradation exceeded 80% within 45 days after application.
- Taxon
- Maize–SunflowerHelianthus annuusZea mayst0
- Outcome
- Herbicide dissipatione0
- Value
- >80%e0
- Qualifier
- 30 and 45 dayse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Herbicide dissipation (pendimethalin and atrazine) followed first‐order kinetics ( R 2 > 0.94), with >80% degradation observed within 30 and 45 days after herbicide application, respectively.”
t0“Conservation Agriculture Effects on Soil Health, Weeds, and Productivity in a Maize–Sunflower System”
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