Redesigning traditional weed management practices in faba bean fields to optimize food‐feed production in the smallholder system

• Published in: Agronomy journal 2022-01, Vol.114 (1), p.248-258
• Main Authors: Bezabih, Melkamu, Mekonnen, Kindu, Adie, Aberra, Tadesse, Tamene, Nurfeta, Ajebu, Dubale, Workneh, Habiso, Tesfaye, Kelkay, Tessema Z., Getnet, Million, Ergano, Kebebe, Duncan, Alan J., Thorne, Peter
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0002-1962; 1435-0645
• DOI: 10.1002/agj2.20779

Duringthe main cropping season, Ethiopian farmers deliberately weed faba bean (Vicia faba L.) fields much later than recommended and use the weed herbage mass as feed. This study examined the rationale behind farmers’ practices and explored options to further improve productivity. The study involved two experiments. The first compared the overall benefit from the traditional weed management regime against the frequent weeding recommendation. Sixty farmers participated, each preparing two plots. The plots were randomly assigned to either traditional (one late weeding) or improved (two early weeding) management. The second examined the suitability of intercropping faba bean with oat (Avena sativa L.). It involved a 5 × 3 factorial experiment, three management practices (traditional, improved, and faba bean oat intercropping) and five faba bean varieties repeated over 3 yr. In the first experiment the improved weed management increased grain yield (2.49 vs. 2.12 Mg ha–1) compared to the traditional. But the traditional management produced higher (P