Integrated weed management in linseed under south Gujarat condition

Linseed or flax is among the oldest crop plants cultivated for the purpose of oil and fibre. It belongs to the genus Linum and family Linaceae. Seed contains 33 to 47 per cent oil. A small quantity is directly used for edible purposes.India is one of the leading oilseeds growing country in the World and fourth largest vegetable oil economy next only to USA, China, and Brazil. Currently, India accounts for about 12-15% of world¿s oilseed area. Among several factors affecting linseed production, weed is an important factor responsible for causing tremendous loss of yield. Weeds cause alarming decline in crop production ranging from 20-40 % to a total failure in linseed yield and the critical period for weed control is 20-25 days.Hand weeding and interculturing between the rows are the conventional methods of weed control. These methods are troublesome due to labour problem in weeding peak and unavailability of suitable intercultural implements. Under such circumstances suitable integrated weed-management practices remains the only choice for farmers.