Effect of ready mix application of herbicide on weed dynamics and productivity of maize in lateritic belt of West Bengal

Maize, being highly productive and versatile cereal crop, is influenced by various biotic and abiotic stresses. Among biotic stresses, weed infestation is one of the serious concerns in maize cultivation. Weeds can affect maize by competing for light, water and nutrients resulting in yield loss of up to 70% in severe cases.

A field experiment was conducted during kharif season for two consecutive years of 2019 and 2020 in agriculture farm of Palli Siksha Bhavana (Institute of Agriculture), Visva-Bharati, Sriniketan, West Bengal, India. The experiment was laid out in randomized I block design and replicated thrice. The experiment comprised of seven weed management treatments viz. T1 (tembotrione 9% + atrazine 45% WG @ 1000 g/ha), T2 (tembotrione 9% + atrazine 45% WG @ 1250 g/ha), T3 (tembotrione 9% + atrazine 45% WG @ 1500 g/ha), T4 (Tembotrione 34.4% SC @ 286 ml/ha), T5 (Atrazine 50% WP), T6 (Hand weeding), T7 (Weedy check).

Experimental results revealed that among different herbicide mixtures, tembotrione + atrazine 1500 g/ha was found to be effective in suppressing the weeds growth and found no residual effect on soil chemical and biological properties during both the years of the experiment.