Influence of weed management practices on weed indices in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during the rabi seasons of 2022-23 and 2023-24 at the Instructional Farm, DKS College of Agriculture and Research Station, Bhatapara, Chhattisgarh, India. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with ten treatments and three replications. The treatments comprised herbicides, mechanical and manual weed control methods. The results revealed that weed management practices significantly influenced weed control efficiency (WCE) and weed index (WI). Hand weeding twice at 25-30 and 45-50 DAS recorded the highest WCE of 96.4 and 97.5% during 2022-23 and 2023-24, respectively, with a pooled mean of 97.0%. Among herbicidal treatments, the ready mixture of Mesosulfuron-methyl + Iodosulfuron-methyl at 14.4 (12 + 2.4) g ha⁻¹ applied at 30 DAS proved most effective, recording WCE of 94.5 and 95.7% during 2022-23 and 2023-24, respectively, with a mean of 95.1%, along with a lower weed index (3.55 and 2.80%, mean 3.17%). Wheel hoeing combined with intra-row hand weeding also showed promising results with mean WCE of 92.6% and weed index of 4.56%. In contrast, the weedy check recorded the highest weed index (50.0 and 49.4%, mean 49.7%), indicating severe yield losses due to uncontrolled weeds.