Climate-smart agriculture (CSA)-based management practices are getting popular across South-Asia
as an alternative to the conventional system for particular weed suppression, resources conservation
and environmental quality. An 8-year study (2012–2013 to 2019–2020) was conducted to understand
the shift in weed density and diversity under different CSA-based management practices called
scenarios (Sc). These Sc involved: Sc1, conventional tillage (CT)-based rice–wheat system with flood
irrigation (farmers’ practice); Sc2, CT-rice, zero tillage (ZT)-wheat–mungbean with flood irrigation
(partial CA-based); Sc3, ZT rice–wheat–mungbean with flood irrigation (partial CSA-based rice); Sc4,
ZT maize–wheat–mungbean with flood irrigation (partial CSA-based maize); Sc5, ZT rice–wheat–
mungbean with subsurface drip irrigation (full CSA-based rice); and Sc6, ZT maize–wheat–mungbean
with subsurface drip irrigation (full CSA-based maize). The most abundant weed species were P.
minor > A. arvensis > M. indicus > C. album and were favored by farmers’ practice. However, CSA-based
management practices suppressed these species and favored S. nigrum and R. dentatus and the effect
of CSAPs was more evident in the long-term. Maximum total weed density was observed for Sc1,
while minimum value was recorded under full CSA-based maize systems, where seven weed-species
vanished, and P. minor density declined to 0.33 instead of 25.93 plant m−
2 after 8-years of continuous
cultivation. Full CSA-based maize–wheat system could be a promising alternative for the conveniently
managed rice–wheat system in weed suppression in north-west India.
