Residual Effect of Different Durations of Soil Solarization and Weed Control Measures on Weed Growth and Productivity of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in Soybean-Wheat System

Mean maximum soil temperature under mulching with transparent polyethylene was recorded 56.4°C at surface, 53.6°C at 5 cm, 44.3°C at 10 cm and 39.4°C at 15 cm soil depth which were higher than non-solarized plots by 10.2, 9.4, 5.1 and 3.4°C, respectively. Soil solarization for five weeks reduced the emergence of all the weeds in wheat except Convolvulus arvensis. Solarization for five weeks gave 68.8 and 70.8% reduction in weed population and weed dry weight, respectively. The highest grain yield of wheat (5038 kg ha⁻¹) was recorded with solarization for five weeks which was 27% higher over non-solarized control. Weeding at 20 days stage and isoproturon application was equally effective on weeds in wheat.