Volume 14, Issue 56, 2025 (October – December)
Research Article
Soil–Herbicide Interactions and Productivity Response of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)
Rahul Sihag, Mahipal Dudwal, Ramesh Chand Choudhary, Arjun Lal Prajapat, Khubi Poonia, Sidharth
Keywords: Wheat, herbicides, weed management, clodinafop, sulfosulfuron, yield, harvest index.
DOI:10.37273/chesci.cs312056082
Full Text – PDF
Abstract
A field experiment was conducted at Vivekananda Global University Research Farm, Jaipur, Rajasthan, during the rabi season to evaluate the efficacy of different herbicides and weed management practices in wheat. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with 11 treatments including pre- and post-emergence herbicides, hand weeding, weedy check, and weed-free conditions, replicated thrice. Growth parameters, weed dry matter, yield attributes, and productivity were recorded and statistically analyzed. Weed-free plots recorded the lowest weed dry matter (0 kg/ha) and produced the highest plant height (79.33 cm), ear length (12.74 cm), and grains per spike (43.2). Among chemical treatments, clodinafop-propargyl + metsulfuron methyl, sulfosulfuron + metsulfuron, and hand weeding at 30–35 DAS proved most effective, significantly reducing weed biomass (172–180 kg/ha) while enhancing growth traits. Grain yield was highest under weed-free conditions (48.69 q/ha), closely followed by clodinafop + metsulfuron (46.19 q/ha) and hand weeding (46.99 q/ha). The weedy check produced the lowest grain yield (34.46 q/ha), reflecting nearly 29% yield loss due to unchecked weed competition. Harvest index remained relatively stable across treatments (44.8–46.0), indicating that weed control influenced biomass accumulation more than partitioning efficiency.
Effective weed management significantly improves wheat growth and productivity. While weed-free plots gave maximum yields, herbicidal combinations such as clodinafop-propargyl + metsulfuron methyl and sulfosulfuron + metsulfuron, along with timely hand weeding, were nearly as effective and economically feasible. Integrated approaches combining manual and chemical methods offer a sustainable strategy for wheat weed management in semi-arid environments.
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