Bean cultivar mixture allows reduced herbicide dose while maintaining high yield: A step towards more eco-friendly weed management

Integrated weed control methods are increasingly demanded to maintain high yield while alleviating negative environmental side effects of control measures. Five field experiments were conducted during 2015–2017 at three locations in Iran to determine the advantage of exploiting enhanced competitive ability of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) via cultivar mixture to reduce herbicide dose. Based on findings, careful selection of cultivars for growing in mixture that combines strong competitor with high yield cultivars is crucial to achieve potential yield with less dependence on herbicides. As authors could show for bean, this will help to overcome conflicting management objectives to reach both environmental and economic goals in weed control and crop production.