Impact of Herbicides on Biochemical and Antioxidant Traits of Moth Bean (Vigna aconitifolia L.)

Herbicides are widely used for effective weed control in legume crops, and their application may alter physiological and biochemical attributes. In the present investigation, the impact of pre and post emergence herbicides on major biochemical and antioxidant traits of Vigna aconitifolia L. was evaluated under field conditions during the Kharif seasons of 2024–25. The experiment was conducted in a Randomized Block Design with three replications using two genotypes viz., MH-65 and MH-45 and under the application of pendimethalin, imazethapyr, and quizalofop individually and in different combinations. The biochemical responses revealed that control plants maintained the highest levels of water soluble carbohydrates, protein, and leghemoglobin. In MH-65 and MH-45, it showed variation in the carbohydrate content (73.20 and 69.80 mg g-1 FW), protein content (29.80 and 26.90 mg g-1 FW), and leghemoglobin (1.80 and 1.15 mg g-1), respectively. Herbicide application, particularly in combination, resulted remarkable reductions in tested parameters whereas proline showed accumulation and superoxide dismutase activity increased significantly under herbicide exposure, with maximum values of 5.35 μmol g⁻¹ FW for proline and 30.20 U mg⁻¹ protein for SOD. Overall, genotype MH-65 exhibited greater metabolic stability, whereas MH-45 showed stronger stress-responsive biochemical activation.