Tillage and nitrogen management effects with sequential and ready-mix herbicides on weed diversity and wheat productivity

ABSTRACT

In this experiment, weed management was studied in zero tillage (ZT) and conventional tillage (CT) wheat with and without crop residue and nitrogen (N). The treatment ZT with crop residue retention (R) and 75% of required N plus GreenSeeker™ (GS)-aided N management (ZTRNGS) resulted in a reduction of density and dry weight of weeds compared to CT and ZT without residue. Sequential application of pendimethalin and sulfosulfuron (PMT-SSF) reduced the weed density and dry weight compared to the weedy check (WC). Importantly, the richness and diversity indices were high in ZTRNGS and in WC treatments. Greater wheat grain (5.11 t/ha) and biomass yield (13.31 t/ha) were observed in ZTRNGS than CT without residue and blanket split application of N (CTN). The treatment ZTRNGS recorded 14.1% and 16.9% higher gross and net returns, respectively, over CTN. This study demonstrates that surface retention of crop residue in ZT is more useful than residue incorporation under CT for effective weed control, improving crop yield and profitability.

KEYWORDS:

• Crop residue
• sensor-based nitrogen management
• sequential herbicides
• tillage
• weed management

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support received from the different Divisions of the ICAR – Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi for successful conduct of this research work during the Ph.D. programme.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The financial support from ICAR – Indian Agricultural Research Institute and Department of Scientist and Technology (DST), Govt. of India.