Effect of herbicide and their combinations on growth and productivity of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under late sown condition

Abstract

Two years field experiment was conducted during rabi seasons of 2015-16 and 2016-17 at Instructional Farm (Agronomy), Rajasthan College of Agriculture, MPUAT, Udaipur. The experiment comprised of fifteen treatments viz. pendimethalin 0.75 kg ha-1; sulfosulfuron 0.025 kg ha-1; metribuzin 0.21 kg ha-1; clodinafop 0.06 kg ha-1; metsulfuron 0.004 kg ha-1; pendimethalin + metribuzin 0.75+0.175 kg ha-1; pendimethalin fb sulfosulfuron 0.75+0.02 kg ha-1; pendimethalin fb clodinafop 0.75+0.05 kg ha-1; pendimethalin fb metsulfuron 0.75+0.004 kg ha-1; metsulfuron + sulfosulfuron 0.003+0.02 kg ha-1; pinoxaden + metsulfuron 0.06+0.004 kg ha-1; mesosulfuron + iodosulfuron 0.012+0.0024 kg ha-1; clodinafop + metsulfuron 0.06+0.004 g ha-1, two hand weeding at 30 & 45 DAS and unweeded control, replicated four times in Randomized Block Design. Wheat variety Raj.- 3765 was used as a test crop. Application of metsulfuron + sulfosulfuron significantly increased the plant height and dry matter accumulation at different growth stages over unweeded control resulted into higher yield attributes viz. effective tillers m-1 row length (93.97), grain ear-1 (44.82) and 1000 grain weight (44.14g). Consequently, highest grain (4412 kg ha-1), straw (6201 kg ha-1) and biological yield (10898 kg ha-1) were obtained through controlling weeds by metsulfuron + sulfosulfuron after two hand weeding which was at par with mesosulfuron + iodosulfuron (4378, 6173 and 10861 kg ha-1) followed by clodinofop + metsulfuron and pinoxaden + metsulfuron and proved significantly superior over rest of the treatments. As a consequence, significantly higher net return ( 63827 ha-1) and B-C ratio (2.34) were also acquired by metsulfuron + sulfosulfuron followed by mesosulfuron + iodosulfuron (63226 ha-1 and 2.32).