Weeds are a major constraint to quinoa production since no herbicide tolerant variety is available worldwide. This raises the importance of cultural practices for controlling weeds. Optimizing plant spacing and implementing effective weeding practices may help to enhance quinoa productivity and profitability. The objective of current study was to utilize the plant spacing as an alternate option for ensuring effective weed management and profitable quinoa production for the irrigated plains. The effect of planting spacing on weed flora in quinoa was evaluated for two consecutive years (2021–22 and 2022–23). Two weeding regimes (weedy and weed-free) along with three plant spacings viz., 10, 20, and 30 cm were tested using a randomized complete block design in split-plot arrangement with three replications. In the weedy plots, no weeding was done, while in the weed-free plots, manual weeding was performed to keep them weed-free throughout the growing season. Different plant spacing significantly influenced weed biomass and density in quinoa. Narrow spaced plants (10 cm) gave maximum weed suppression as against widely spaced plants (30 cm) and a concomitant yield increase. Medium plant spacing (20 cm) gave maximum grain yield by attaining the optimum plant population under weed-free conditions during both years. Economic analysis also revealed that medium plant spacing with weed-free conditions was beneficial compared to other treatments regarding gross returns, net returns, and benefit-cost ratio. This study highlights that quinoa spacing primarily determined quinoa-weed competition and can be a tool for weed management in this crop.

中文翻译：

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通过优化植物间距和除草制度提高藜麦的生产力和盈利能力


杂草是藜麦生产的主要限制因素，因为世界范围内没有耐除草剂的品种。这凸显了控制杂草的文化实践的重要性。优化植物间距和实施有效的除草措施可能有助于提高藜麦的生产力和盈利能力。当前研究的目的是利用植物间距作为替代选择，以确保有效的杂草管理和灌溉平原的藜麦生产的盈利。连续两年（2021-22 和 2022-23）评估了种植间距对藜麦杂草菌群的影响。使用随机完整区组设计，在裂区排列中进行三次重复测试，测试了两种除草方案（杂草和无杂草）以及三种植物间距（即 10、20 和 30 厘米）。在杂草地块中，不进行除草，而在无杂草地块中，进行人工除草，以保持整个生长季节无杂草。不同株距显着影响藜麦杂草生物量和密度。与宽间距植物（30 厘米）相比，窄间距植物（10 厘米）可最大程度地抑制杂草，并随之提高产量。中等株距（20厘米）在这两年的无杂草条件下实现了最佳植物种群，从而实现了最大的粮食产量。经济分析还表明，在总回报、净回报和效益成本比方面，与其他处理相比，无杂草条件下的中等株距是有益的。这项研究强调，藜麦间距主要决定藜麦与杂草的竞争，并且可以成为该作物杂草管理的工具。