Crop Res.

52 (1, 2 & 3) : 10-13 (2017)

Printed in India

Impact of herbicides on growth, yield and yield attributing

characters of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)
TARUN GOPAL, R. A. YADAV AND ABHINANDAN SINGH*,1
Department of Agronomy
Chandra Sekhar Azad University of Agriculture & Technology, Kanpur-208 002 (U. P.), India
*(e-mail : agabhi92@gmail.com)

(Received : February 04, 2017/Accepted : March 31, 2017)

ABSTRACT

A field experiment was conducted during rabi season of 2012-13 at Students

Instructional Farm of Chandra Sekhar Azad University of Agriculture & Technology Kanpur,
Uttar Pradesh to evaluate the effect of herbicides metsulfuron-methyl, carfentrazon-ethyl
and clodinafop under sole as well as combination with sulfosulfuron and clodinafop fb
metsulfuron on wheat growth, yield and yield attributing characters. Among herbicides,
maximum plant population and dry matter (60 and 90 DAS) production were found under
the treatment sulfosulfuron fb carfentrazone (25 and 15, and 25 and 10 g a. i./ha,
respectively). The maximum plant height among herbicides was recorded under
sulfosulfuron fb metsulfuron. Herbicide sulfosulfuron fb carfentrazone (15 g a. i./ha)
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recorded numerically higher values of number of tillers/m2 and effective tillers/m2. However,
the herbicidal treatment sulfosulfuron (25 g a. i./ha)+carfentrazon (15 g a. i./ha) recorded
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significantly highest grain yield of wheat (46.65 q/ha) over unweeded plot, followed by
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sulfosulfuron (25 g a. i./ha) fb carfentrazon (15 g a. i./ha) (46.50 q/ha). All the yield
attributing characters viz., grain weight per ear, number of earheads/m2, number of
spikelets/ear and 1000-grain weight were also maximized under sulfosulfuron (25 g a. i/
ha)+carfentrazon (10 g a. i./ha) treatment.

Key words : Growth, herbicides, Triticum aestivum L., wheat, yield

INTRODUCTION have been reported by Katyal et al (1980).

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is an
important staple food crop for billions people
of the world and among cereals, it occupies
maximum area (219.04 m/ha) globally (FAO,
2014). For food security, its assured production
and supply are necessary. Weed infestation is
one of the major biotic factors limiting wheat
production and productivity. The estimated
yield loss worldwide caused by weeds varied
between 7.7 to 23.9% depending on the region
(Oerke, 2006; Kosina et al., 2007). Wheat crop
is infested with number of weeds, namely,
Phalaris minor, Chenopodium album, Cyprus
rotundus, Mililotus alba, Anagallis arvensis,
Convolvulus arvensis, etc. Phalaris minor Linn
(canary grass) and Avena fatua (wild oat) are
primary concern in large area of north-western
plain zone. Chenopodium album is prominent
weed in wheat among broad-leaved weeds.
About 37% yield losses due to grassy weeds
Department of Agronomy, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa-848 125, Samastipur
1
Conventional method of weed removal i. e. hand
weeding is prevalent in different parts of the
country. However, due to unavailability of
adequate labour and their high charges,
weeding operation is often delayed, secondary
hand weeding has been proved ineffective
because of morphological similarity of Phalaris
and wheat plant, particularly in initial stage of
growth. In this view, herbicidal application for
controlling P. minor has been found effective
and economical in wheat. Among chemical
weed control combinations of isoproturon and
2,4-D at tank mixture has been recommended
against complex weed flora. However,
continuous reliance on isoproturon resulted in
heavy build-up of Phalaris minor (Malik and
Singh 1995). Under such situation, a suitable
combination of sulfosulfuron, clodinafop and
carfentrazon-ethyl, etc. like herbicides is
needed for the purpose of reducing weed growth
and increasing growth and yield of wheat.

(Bihar), India.
 Effect of herbicides on growth and yield of wheat 11

Hence, the present investigation was carried
out to evaluate the combination of herbicides
on wheat growth and yield attributes.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The field experiment was conducted
during 2012-13 with a view to judge the efficacy
of new herbicide compounds viz., metsulfuron-
methyl, carfentrazon-ethyl, clodinafop and
sulfosulfuron under sole as well as in
combination with sulfosulfuron on growth and
yield attributes as well as yield of wheat crop
on Students Instructional Farm at C. S. Azad
University of Agriculture & Technology, Kanpur
(U. P.). Geographically, Kanpur is situated in
the central part of U. P. and sub-tropical tract
of north India between latitude ranging from
25056 to 28058 north and longitude 79031 to
80034 east and is located on an elevation of
about 125.9 m above mean sea level. Wheat
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and flowering stage. The soil was sandy loam
in texture being deficient in nitrogen and
medium in phosphorus and potassium.
Fourteen treatment combinations comprising
manual weeding (twice), sole application of
sulfosulfuron, metsulfuron-methyl, carfentrazon-
ethyl, clodinafop and their tank mixture with
sulfosulfuron+carfentrazon were replicated
thrice in randomized block design. Data on crop
were recorded and presented after statistical
analysis.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Growth
Data pertaining to growth parameters
are shown in Table 1, where plant population/
m 2 recorded that all the weed control
treatments non-significantly increased the
plant population over untreated plot. The

crop (HUW-234) was shown at row spacing of maximum plant population was counted under
22 cm apart using 100 kg seed/ha. A dose of manual weeded plot. The highest values
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60 kg nitrogen, 60 kg phosphorus, 40 kg potash recorded under tank sulfosulfuron (25 g a. i./

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was applied as basal dressing and remaining ha) fb carfentrazon (15 g a. i./ha) were not
dose of nitrogen (60 kg) were applied into two significantly superior. Maximum plant height
equal split doses. Four irrigations were given was recorded under treatment twice hand
at CRI stage, tillering stage, late jointing stage weeding plots (58.65 and 82.50 cm) followed

Table 1. Impact of herbicides on growth of wheat

Treatment Plant Dry weight of plant Plant height No. of No. of effective
population/m2 (g) (cm) tillers/m2 tillers/m2
(At maturity) 60 DAS 60 DAS
60 DAS 90 DAS 60 DAS 90 DAS

T1 119.50 8.36 16.41 55.40 79.15 395.75 388.30

T2 121.80 8.81 15.80 55.65 79.75 398.75 391.50
T3 120.90 8.89 16.32 56.35 80.10 400.50 349.30
T4 122.50 9.56 17.09 56.90 80.90 404.50 398.50
T5 121.30 9.90 16.85 56.65 80.45 402.25 394.30
T6 122.30 9.92 16.73 57.28 81.35 406.75 401.50
T7 123.20 10.21 17.33 57.30 81.75 408.75 403.50
T8 119.80 10.56 17.63 57.15 81.15 405.75 399.30
T9 120.60 8.01 15.19 55.90 79.90 399.50 390.30
T10 122.10 8.33 16.33 56.70 80.50 402.50 396.75
T11 120.80 8.21 15.96 56.30 80.30 401.50 395.50
T12 121.50 7.96 16.42 57.40 81.80 403.30 397.50
T13 123.20 10.15 17.65 58.65 82.50 412.50 405.30
T14 122.40 7.86 14.83 51.60 75.80 375.30 360.25
S. Em 2.115 0.37 0.33 0.205 1.115 3.85 8.84
C. D. (P=0.05) NS 0.76 0.68 0.42 2.29 7.93 18.19

T1 : Sulfosulfuron (25 g a. i./ha),T2 : Carfentrazone (20 g a. i./ha ), T3 : Sulfosulfuron (25 g a. i./ha)+Carfentrazon (20 g a. i.
/ha), T4 : Sulfosulfuron (25 g a. i./ha)+Carfentrazon (15 g a. i./ha), T5 : Sulfosulfuron (25 g a. i./ha)+Carfentrazon (10 g a.
i./ha), T6 : Sulfosulfuron (25 g a. i./ha) fb Carfentrazon (20 g a. i./ha), T7 : Sulfosulfuron (25 g a. i./ha) fb Carfentrazon (15
g a. i./ha), T8 : Sulfosulfuron (25 g a. i./ha) fb Carfentrazon (10 g a. i./ha), T9 : Clodinafop (60 g a. i./ha), T10 : Metsulfuron
(4 g a. i./ha), T11 : Clodinafop (60 g a. i./ha) fb Metsulfuron (4 g a. i./ha), T12 : Sulfosulfuron (25 g a. i./ha) fb Metsulfuron
(4 g a. i./ha), T13 : Twice hand weeding (30 and 60 DAS) and T14 : Weedy check. NS : Not Significant.
 12 Gopal, Yadav and Singh

by sulfosulfuron fb metsulfuron. These results Yield

support the findings of Bhattacharya et al.
(2003) where sulfosulfuron fb metsulfuron-
methyl (25+4 g a. i./ha) established its
superiority over its sole application in respect
of reducing complex weed flora in wheat crop
which resulted in increase in growth. Manual
weeding recorded the highest value of dry
weight per plant (10.15 and 17.65 g/plant)
during both the stages of crop growth. Among
herbicides, sulfosulfuron fb carfentrazone (25
and 10 g a. i./ha) recorded numerically higher
values of dry matter over all other herbicides
at both the stages of crop growth. The
effectiveness of carfentrazon-ethyl (20 g a. i./
ha) alone and mixed with sulfosulfuron (25 g
a. i./ha) on weed was reported by Khan et al.
(2004) where applied carfentrazon-ethyl (20 g
a. i./ha) as post-emergence after first
irrigation. Carfentrazon-ethyl alone
demonstrated effective mortality of P. minor
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The data pertaining to grain and straw
yield shown in Table 2 varied significantly due to
different herbicides and herbicidal combinations.
Unweeded plot recorded minimum values.
Clodinafop (60 g a. i./ha) and metsulfuron (4 g
a. i./ha) treatment plot recorded significantly
lesser grain and straw yield than other
treatments. Among twice hand weedings plot
recorded significantly higher grain as well as
straw yield, followed by sulfosulfuron (25 g a. i./
ha)+carfentrazon (15 g a. i./ha) and sulfosulfuron
(25 g a. i./ha) fb carfentrazon (15 g a. i./ha),
respectively, sprayed plots. In manual weeding
P. minor weed plants escaped because of
morphological similarly of excelled all the
herbicidal treatments on growth and yield
attributing characters and finally the grain yield.
The possible reason to manual weeding would
be attributed to aeration and increasing the

to the extant of 75%. This herbicide was found availability of nutrients created by the weedy
satisfactory in control of almost all the operation through khurpi. This enabled to utilize
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associated weeds when applied alone or in more nutrients by the crop. However,
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combination with sulfosulfuron by that less carfentrazon-ethyl alone demonstrated

crop-weed competition. So, dry matter
accumulation of crop increased significantly.
Numerically higher values of number of tillers/
m2 over the herbicides and the highest value
of effective tillers/m 2 was recorded under
treatment twice hand weedings, with
sulfosulfuron fb carfentrazone (15 g a. i./ha),
respectively.
satisfactory control of P. minor and broad-leaf
weeds. Tank mixture of sulfosulfuron with
carfentrazon-ethyl (25+15 g a. i./ha) established
its superiority over its sole application in respect
of reducing complex weed flora in wheat crop
which resulted in increase in growth and yield
attributes ultimately yield was increased. These
results support the findings of Yadav et al. (2009).

Table 2. Impact of herbicides on yield and yield attributing characters of wheat

Treatment Straw yield Seed yield Harvest Test weight Ear weight No. of Ear length No. of grains/
(q/ha) (q/ha) index (g) (g) spikelets/ (cm) ear
ear

T1 57.69 45.28 38.90 38.45 2.30 18.44 10.20 48.40

T2 56.45 45.72 39.45 38.75 2.45 18.60 10.29 48.80
T3 56.44 46.16 39.65 38.90 2.37 18.73 10.36 49.20
T4 56.83 46.65 39.75 39.42 2.96 18.92 10.47 49.65
T5 58.69 46.27 38.50 39.25 2.62 18.73 10.36 49.30
T6 55.99 46.40 38.75 39.35 3.39 19.10 10.55 50.15
T7 55.60 46.50 38.90 39.42 3.46 19.16 10.60 50.30
T8 58.80 45.90 37.75 38.82 2.35 18.96 10.49 49.75
T9 51.80 44.10 39.80 37.95 2.33 18.53 10.25 48.65
T10 57.04 45.65 39.25 38.25 2.91 18.83 10.42 49.45
T11 56.94 45.25 39.10 38.10 3.15 18.78 10.39 49.30
T12 56.15 45.30 39.35 38.20 2.76 18.80 10.40 49.35
T13 57.65 47.65 39.95 40.45 3.43 19.25 10.65 50.55
T14 56.29 40.50 37.10 37.35 2.32 17.08 9.45 44.85
S. Em 0.039 1.322 0.371 0.750 0.036 0.314 0.123 0.862
C. D. (P=0.05) 0.080 2.717 0.763 1.543 0.074 0.645 0.253 1.774

Treatment details are given in Table 1.

 Effect of herbicides on growth and yield of wheat
Yield Attributes
The results pertaining yield attributes
have been furnished in Table 2. Among the
herbicides, maximum ear length (10.47 cm),
ear weight (2.96 g), grains per ear (49.65) and
number of spikelets/ear (18.92) were recorded
under treatment sulfosulfuron (25 g a. i./ha)
fb carfentrazone (15 g a. i./ha). However, the
highest test weight was recorded under the
twice hand weedings (40.45 g). Sulfosulfuron
and metsulfuron did not differ between
themselves, in account the test weight
improvement was noticed significantly by
mixing of sulfosulfuron with other herbicides.
Test weight was minimum under weedy check
plot (37.35 g) over all the values which varied
(37.35-40.45 g). The yield attributes number
of earheads/m 2, length of ear, ear weight,
number of grains per ear, grain weight per ear,
number of spikelets per ear and test weight
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were significantly enhanced over untreated.
Addition of sulfosulfuron with carfentrazon-
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ethyl produced advantageous increase in the
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grain yield and their attributes. These findings
collaborate with the results obtained by Singh
et al. (2011).
The present investigation conclusively
inferred that combined application of
sulfosulfuron with carfentrazon-ethyl as tank
mixed or sequential is better for reducing weed
growth and increasing wheat growth, yield
attributing characters and finally getting
maximum yield.
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