The effect of integrated weed management systems (chemical, biological, directed grazing, and solarization) on soil biological activity and date palm productivity (Phoenix dactylifera L.) in Basra.

• 1Kadhimiyah J. A. Al-Mansor, 2Assim N.D. Al-Mansor ,3Khtam MuhsinHnoonAyadha

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A field experiment was conducted in the Shatt al-Arab of Basra in a private date palm orchard. The experiment began on June 1, 2024, and ended on December 1, 2025. The aim was to study the effect of four individual factors: solarization (ss), chemical control (cc), fungicide (fc), and directed grazing (gc), as well as the two-factor interactions: solarization + chemical pesticide (sc), solarization + fungicide (sf), and solarization + directed grazing (sg), and the threefactor interaction: solarization + directed grazing + fungicide (sgf).The completely randomized block design (BCRD) was used, and the treatments were randomly distributed. Measurements were taken after the harvest date, and the  Triple interaction (sgf) gave the highest significant increase in all experimental treatments for the following traits: total bacterial number (*10⁷ CFU g soil⁻¹), total fungal  number (*10³CFU g soil⁻¹), and date palm yield (kg palm⁻¹), which amounted to 2.685 *10⁷ CFU g soil⁻¹, 1.2817 *10³ CFU g soil⁻¹, and 124.97 (kg palm⁻¹), compared to the control treatment of 0.0767 *10⁷ CFU g soil⁻¹, 0.0767 *10 CFU g soil⁻¹, and 94.13 (kg.palm⁻¹).The double interaction (sg) resulted in the highest significant increase in all experimental treatments for the following properties: dehydrogenase, phosphatase, and urease (µmol.g soil^-1h^-1), (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and organic matter) %, reaching (32.42, 8.18, 42.50, 2.44, 0.66, 0.87, and 2.80)%, respectively, compared to the control treatment (1.37, 0.04, 1.37, 0.11, 0.04, and 0.02)%, respectively.This study highlights the importance of  triple interactions in production and  duple interactions in soil sustainability and palm production, as well as the importance of directed grazing as an environmentally friendly pest control and fertilization method.

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