Effect of integrated weed management on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under irrigated condition

Introduction

At global level wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the most important and integral component of food security. Wheat grown throughout the world and known as "King of Cereals". In India wheat is the main staple food. In India mainly three species of wheat are cultivated: Common bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), Macaroni or durum wheat (Triticum durum L.) and Emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum L.), covering 86%, 12% and 2 % of total wheat area respectively, out of these the maximum area is covered by Triticum aestivum L. species. Wheat content 12% protein relatively high compared to other major cereals. In India all of the agricultural losses weeds account for 33%, disease 26%, insects 20% and other 21%, It show that weed cause maximum damage for wheat crops. In India, there are 30.47 million hectares total under cultivation, producing 106.8 million tons of wheat year with an average productivity of 3507 kg ha -1 (Economic survey of India 2022-23). Influence of weds losses depends on their type, abundance, and environmental factor (Chhokar et al. 2012) [4] . Because of this much of losses produce by weeds we need to effective weed management for ensuring food for increasing population. For ecological approach to weed management Integrated Weed Management (IWM) is reduce dependence on herbicide through understanding the weed ecology, weed biology and use varies weed management tools including agronomic, mechanical, chemical & biological methods. @ 1.0 kg a.i. ha -1 as pre emergence, (T 5 ) Pendimethalin 30% EC @ 1.0 kg a.i. ha -1 as pre emergence + hand weeding at 20 DAS, (T 6 ) Metsulfuron 20% WP @ 4.0 g a.i. ha -1 as post emergence at 20 DAS, (T 7 ) Pendimethalin 30% EC @ 1.0 kg a.i. ha -1 as pre emergence + Metsulfuron 20% WP @ 4.0 g a.i. ha -1 as post emergence at 20 DAS, (T 8 ) Mechanical weeding at 20 DAS, (T 9 ) Mechanical weeding at 20 DAS & 40 DAS, (T 10 ) Pendimethalin 30% EC @ 1.0 kg a.i. ha -1 as pre emergence + mechanical weeding at 20 DAS and (T 11 ) Weed free, using random block design with 3 replication.

Materials and Methods

The experiment was conducted in the

Results and Discussion

The significant results of the present inquiry are summarized as follows:

Plant height

The treatment (T 11 ) weed free reported the highest possible plant height at 30, 60, 90 DAS and at harvest, measuring (32.62 cm, 70.91 cm, 89.11 cm) and (87.21 cm ), respectively, which was closely followed by treatment (T 5 ) pendimethalin 30% EC @ 1.0 kg a.i. ha -1 as pre emergence + hand weeding at 20 DAS (31.66) at 30 DAS and treatment (T 3 ) hand weeding at 20 DAS & 40 DAS (67.91, 85.98 and 84.18 cm) at 60, 90 DAS and at harvest. The lowest plant height during all growth stages was considerably recorded by control (T ).

The treatment (T 11 ) weed free showed the highest number of tillers m -2 (197.25, 443.84, 437.00) and 418.56) at the 30, 60, 90 DAS and at harvest, followed by treatment (T 5 ) pendimethalin 30% EC @ 1.0 kg a.i. ha -1 as pre-emergence + hand weeding at 20 DAS (193.41) at 30 DAS and treatment (T 3 ) hand weeding at 20 DAS & 40 DAS (298.56, 374.93 and 345.66 tillers m -2 ) at 60, 90 DAS and at harvest. The statistically lowest number of tillers m -2 was found in the treatment (T 1 ) control (140.85, 202.39, 221.32 and 199.89 m -2 ) at all the growth stages. Similar results have also been observed by Sharma (2009) [2] .

The highest dry matter of the wheat plant at 30, 60, 90 DAS and at harvest was recorded in treatment (T 11 ) Weed free (0.69, 8.09, 17.79 and 24.10 g plant -1 ), followed by treatment (T 5 ) Pendimethalin 30% EC @ 1.0 kg a.i. ha -1 as pre-emergence + hand weeding at 20 DAS, at 30 DAS and treatment (T 3 ) Hand weeding at 20 DAS & 40 DAS, at 60, 90 DAS and at harvest (7.52, 15.98, 22.12 g plant -1 ). Treatment (T 1 ) Control had lowest dry matter accumulation (0.54, 4.03, 6.07 and 7.32 g plant -1 ) at all the growth stages. These findings matched the findings reported by Singh et al. (2011) [3] .

Ear length

The treatment (T 11 ) weed free had the longest ear length (9.68 cm), followed by treatment (T 3 ) hand weeding at 20 DAS & 40 DAS (9.43), while in treatment (T 1 ) control recorded the shortest ear length (5.44 cm).

Number of grains ear-1

The treatment (T 11 ) weed free had the highest number of grains ear -1 head (30.94), whereas treatment (T3) hand weeding at 20 DAS & 40 DAS and treatment (T 5 ) Pendimethalin 30% EC @1.0 kg a.i. ha -1 as pre-emergence + hand weeding at 20 DAS gave statistically comparable results (29.03) and (28.58), respectively. The treatment (T 1 ) Control, which was statistically inferior to other treatments, recorded the lowest number of grains ear -1 . These findings corroborate those of Dhiman et al. (2000) [5] .

The treatment (T 11 ) weed free had the highest test weight (43.75), followed by the treatment (T 3 ) hand weeding at 20 DAS & 40 DAS (42.56), and treatment (T 5 ) pendimethalin 30% EC @ 1.0 kg a.i. ha -1 as pre emergence + hand weeding at 20 DAS (42.30). The treatment (T 1 ) control, resulted in a significantly lower test weight (32.58 g). Comparable findings reported by Punia et al. (2011) [3] .

Grain yield (q ha -1 ) Significantly higher grain yield (40.04 q ha -1 ) was recorded in treatment (T 11 ) weed free. However, the difference among the i.e. treatment (T 3 ) Hand weeding at 20 DAS and 40 DAS, treatment (T 5 ) pendimethalin 30% EC @1.0kg a.i. ha -1 as pre-emergence + metsulfuron 20% WP @ 4.0g a.i. ha -1 as post emergence at 20 DAS were at par with the treatment T 11 , T 3 and T 5 i.e. 35.07, 36.03 and 37.27 q ha -1 respectively , over other treatment combinations. Minimum grain yield was recorded in treatment (T 1 ) control (12.98 q ha -1 ).

The treatment (T 11 ) weed free had the highest straw yield (42.12 q ha -1 ) than any other treatment, followed by treatment (T 3 ) hand weeding at 20 DAS & 40 DAS (39.33 q ha -1 ) and treatment (T 5 ) pendimethalin 30% EC @ 1.0 kg a.i. ha -1 as a pre-emergence + hand weeding at 20 DAS (38.28). Treatment (T 1 ) control, yielded significantly less straw than other treatments (17.19 q ha -1 ).

Conclusion

The treatment (T 11 ) Weed free is most effective weed control method for wheat crop which give better growth and yield attributes, give significantly higher grain yield (40.04 q ha-1). Whereas, treatment (T 3 ) comparable to treatment (T 11 ) in all characters, which give higher grain yield (37.27 q ha -1 ).

References

1. Anonymous. Statistical Abstract of Economic Survey of India. 2022-2023.
2. Sharma OL. Efficacy of post-emergence herbicides to control broad leaf weeds in wheat in Indira Gandhi Canal area of western Rajasthan. Indian Journal of Weed Science. 2009;41(1-2):52-54.
3. Singh S, Punia S, Yadav A, Hooda VS. Evaluation of carfentrazone-ethyl + metsulfuron-methyl against broad leaf weeds in wheat. Indian Journal of Weed Science. 2011;43(1-2):12-22.
4. Chhokar RS, Sharma RK, Sharma I. Weed management strategies in wheat: A review. Journal of Wheat Research. 2012;4(2):1-21.
5. Dhiman SD, Nandal DP. Productivity of rice (Oryza sativa)-wheat (Triticum aestivum) cropping system as affected by residue management and fertility levels. Indian Journal of Agronomy. 2000;45(1):45-51.