Crop Establishment Methods and Weed Management Practices Effect on Nutrient Content and Their Uptake in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in the Varanasi Region

Abstract

A field study was carried out during two consecutive Rabi seasons in 2018–19 and 2019–20 at the Agricultural Research Farm of the Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India to evaluate the effectiveness of various tillage techniques and herbicides on the nutrient utilization of wheat. The treatments included different crop establishment techniques, such as conventional, reduced, and zero tillage, which  were assigned to the main plot, and various weed management techniques,  such as Carfentrazone-ethyl 40 %DF @ 10 g a.i. /ha; Carfentrazone-ethyl 40% DF @ 20 g a.i. /ha; Carfentrazone-ethyl 40 % DF @ 30 g a.i./ha; Carfentrazone-ethyl 40% DF @ 40 g a.i. /ha; 2,4-D Amine salt @ 750 g a.i./ ha; Metsulfuron methyl 20% WP @4 g a.i. /ha; Metsulfuron methyl 20% WP @6 g a.i. /ha; and Hand Weeding at 25 & 45 DAS were assigned to the subplot, which remained constant for both  the years under Split Plot Design  which was replicated three times. The result reveals that total N (58.03 and 31.10 kg/ha), P( 11.75and 2.656 kg/ha ) and K(17.25 and 77.47 kg/ha) content of grain and straw, respectively  in 2018-19 and N (61.41 and 31.60 kg/ha), P( 11.89and 2.849 kg/ha ) and K(17.48 and 77.89 kg/ha) content of grain and straw, respectively in 2019-20 ,  was significantly higher in carfentrazone-ethyl @ 30 g a.i. /ha after  hand weeding at 25 & 45 DAS over rest other treatments but was at par with carfentrazone-ethyl @ 20 g a.i. /ha and metsulfuron methyl 20 % WP@ 8 g a.i. /ha. Also N (56.39 and 29.96 kg/ha), P(11.72 and 2.594 kg/ha) and K(16.75 and 76.71 kg/ha) uptake by the grain and wheat straw , respectively in 2018-19 and N (59.87and 30.41kg/ha), P(11.82 and 2.801kg/ha) and K (17.04 and 76.91 kg/ha) uptake by grain and straw, respectively in 2019-20  under metsulfuron methyl 20 % WP@ 8 g a.i. /ha was statistically at par with that of metsulfuron methyl 20%WP @ 6 g a.i. /ha. Wheat treated with carfentrazone-ethyl @ 30 g a.i. /ha produced higher grain protein yield (36.27 and 38.38 kg/ha) in 2018-19 and 2019-20 ,  respectively which  was at par with carfentrazone-ethyl @ 20 g a.i. /ha and  metsulfuron  methyl 20 % WP@ 8 g a.i. /ha.