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

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).