Herbicide screening and application method development for sustainable weed management in Tagetes erecta L. fields

Tagetes erecta L. (marigold), a crop of significant medicinal, ornamental, and economic value, faces severe industrialization challenges due to weed-induced yield losses (up to 60%). This study aims to identify safe and highly efficient herbicides for marigold, assess their effects on dominant weeds and crop safety, and provide a practical basis for large-scale cultivation. We evaluated 11 pre-emergence herbicides, 13 post-emergence herbicides, and agronomic practices (plastic mulch) through three field trials to optimize weed control, crop safety, and productivity. In Experiment 1, pre-emergence applications of pendimethalin (35% SC) and oxyfluorfen (240 g/L EC) under plastic mulch suppressed 85–99% of grass and broad-leaved weeds, elevating marigold yield to 1,655.6 kg/667 m² and increasing lutein content by 10.7% compared to controls, with no phytotoxicity to subsequent wheat or broad beans. Experiment 2 demonstrated that post-cultivation soil treatment with metolachlor · oxyfluorfen..., , # Data from: Herbicide screening and application method development for sustainable weed management in Tagetes erecta L. fields

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.fn2z34v66](10.5061/dryad.fn2z34v66)

## Description of the data and file structure

At different growth stages of marigolds, we conducted three separate experiments in both two experimental sites. Experiment 1 involved a pre-emergent soil treatment using 11 herbicides. In Experiment 2, soil treatment with 12 herbicides was conducted after intertillage and earthing-up, approximately 45 days after the marigold transplanting. In Experiment 3, a post-emergent treatment was applied using 13 herbicides, approximately 30 days after cultivation and earthing up.

In experiment 1, we measured the efficacy of the number of plants control after 20 days of treatment, in experiment 2 and experiment 3, we conducted two surveys,  the first to calculate the efficacy of plants control, and the second to calculate the efficacy of plants control and fr...,