Using L-systems To Simulate Chickpea Cultivars And Their Shading Abilities

The crop chosen for this study is chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) as the fourth most important legume in Australian agriculture (FAOSTAT 2004). One of the major obstacles in growing this crop is its poor competitive ability with weeds, which leads to significant reductions in yield. The best method to control weeds in crops such as chickpea is through the use of integrated weed management (IWM). Appropriate IWM packages for chickpea should make use of the competitive ability of specific chickpea cultivars appropriate row spacings, seed densities and timing of crop planting. Having more competitive cultivars appears to be a viable approach for providing a safe and environmentally benign component for IWM.