Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management and Herbicides Efficacy on Productivity of Late Sown Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in Semi-arid Region

Abstract

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a principal staple cereal underpinning global food security, occupying the largest area among cereals with an annual production of nearly 795 million tonnes worldwide and over 113 million tonnes in India. However, in intensive cropping systems, late sowing, imbalanced nutrient use, and escalating herbicide resistance pose significant challenges to sustaining wheat productivity and soil health. A field experiment was conducted during the rabi seasons of 2023-24 and 2024-25 at the Crop Research Centre of ITM University Gwalior, M.P., India, to Assess the effect of nutrient management and herbicides on growth and productivity of wheat. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with 03 replications. comprised of three nutrient management practices and 06 herbicide applications. Experimental results revealed that among the nutrient management practices, 75% RDF + vermicompost @ 1.5 t ha-¹ recorded higher growth attributes viz., plant height (95.3 and 98.5 cm), dry matter accumulation (859.7 and 884.8 g m-2), number of shoots (425.7 and 438 m-2) and growth indices viz., CGR at 30-60 DAS (8.73 and 9.03 g m-² day-¹), 60-90 DAS (11.05 and 11.48 g m-² day-¹) and 90 DAS to harvest (6.10 and 6.17 g m-² day-¹) along with grain yield (4117 and 4218 kg ha-¹). Herbicides application showed the significantly effect on weed control and crop yield. Significantly highest grain yield was obtained with weed-free treatment, among herbicidal treatment Sulfosulfuron + Metsulfuron-methyl, outperformed better in terms of grain yield (4344 and 4468 kg ha-1) and growth-attributing characteristics, as well as weed control efficiency (83.34 % and 84.77%). Therefore, it was concluded that application of 75% RDF + vermicompost 1.5 t ha-1 and Sulfosulfuron + Metsulfuron-methyl found effective, in enhancing wheat productivity and better weed control under late-sown conditions.