Comparative Efficacy of Different Herbicides for Weed Management and Yield Attributes in Wheat

Weed competes with crops for water, nutrients and light so weed infestation is one of the major threats to crop. Present investigation was aimed to asses the comparative efficacy of different herbicides for weed management in wheat crop under agro-climatic conditions of Pakistan. This experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) design with five replications. Different herbicides were used for weed management in wheat crop. The post emergence application of herbicides included Aim 40 DF @ 0.02 kg a.i. ha-1, Agritop 500 GL-1 @ 0.43 kg a.i. ha-1, Isoproturon 50 WP @ 1 kg a.i. ha-1, Puma super 75 EW @ 0.75 kg, Topik 15 WP @ 0.04 kg and Buctril super 60 EC @ 0.45 kg. For comparison hand weeding and weedy check were also included. In each replication six treatments of these six herbicides were kept. The significantly affected parameters were fresh weed biomass (kg·ha-1), thousand grain weight (g), number of tillers m-2, weed control efficiency (%) and grain yield (kg·ha-1). Statistical analysis showed that maximum weed efficiency (84%) was recorded for Isoproturon 50 WP whereas minimum value (37%) was for Aim 40 DF. Similarly maximum number of tillers m-2 (250) was recorded for Isoproturon 50 WP and minimum (133) in weedy check. The herbicide Isoproturon 50 WP @ 1.0 kg a.i. ha-1 was applied at post emergence performed well and exhibited effectively weed control and better yield in wheat.