ARPN Journal of Science and Technology::Effect of Weed Control on Growth and Seed Production of Butterfly Pea (Clitoria ternatea) Under Rainfed Conditions at Zalingei Western Darfur State - Sudan

A field experiment was conducted during the seasons of 2010/2011 in a semiarid savannah zone, at the faculty of agriculture demonstration farm University of Zalingei two kilometers east of Zalingei town Western Darfur State. The aim of the experiment is to study the effect of weed control on growth and seed production of (Clitoria ternatea) under rainfed conditions. Four treatments viz.; No weeding (W0), weeding once (W1), weeding two times (W2), and weeding three times (W3) were randomly assigned to a randomized complete block design with four replicates for statistical analysis. Treatments studied include growth attributes (plant height, plant density, percent plant cover and leaf to stem ratio) and seed yield attributes which include: number of flower per plant, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, hundred seed weight and total seed yield. Results indicated that weed control have a vital effect on Clitoria plants establishment especially during the early stages of growth. W1, W2 and W3 treatments significantly increased plant growth and seed yield attributes at different growth stages in relation to (W0) treatment, while no differences were recorded between W2 and W3 treatments for both growth and yield attributes. W3 treatment significantly increased total yield resulted in high seed yield reached up to 687Kg/ha.