Tank mix application of tembotrione and atrazine to reduce weed growth and increase productivity of maize Sharma Puscal*,1,2, Duary Buddhadeb2, Singh Raghavendra1,2 2Institute of Agriculture, Visva-Bharati, Sriniketan, West Bengal, 731 236 1ICAR-National Organic Farming Research Institute, Tadong, Gangtok, 737 102 *Email: raghavenupc@gmail.com
Abstract The experiment was carried out during Kharif (wet) season of 2014 at Agricultural Farm of Palli Siksha Bhavana, Visva-Bharati, Sriniketan, West Bengal to find the effect of tank mix application of tembotrione and atrazine on weed growth and productivity of Kharif maize. Nine treatments comprising of herbicide tembotrione as early post-emergence at 80, 100, 120 g/ha alone and in combination with atrazine at 500 g/ha, sole application of atrazine at 1000 g/ha and weeding twice at 25 and 40 DAS and unweeded control were assigned in a randomized block design in three replication. Results revealed that the experimental field was infested with all categories of weeds including grassy, broad-leaved and sedges. Among them the most predominant weeds were Ludwigia parviflora, Cynodon doctylon, Cyperus rotundus and Fimbristylis miliacea. Overall weed infestation caused about 48% reduction in yield of maize. Combined application of tembotrione with atrazine was significantly superior to its sole application in all the doses tested. Tembotrione at 100 g/ha + stefes mero surfactant at 733 g/ha + atrazine 500 g/ha considerably reduced the weed infestation-registering lower weed density, dry weight, weed index, higher weed control efficiency and increase in values of growth and yield attributes and yield of maize, which were comparable with tembotrione at 80 g/ha + stefes mero surfactant at 733 g/ha + atrazine 500 g/ha and tembotrione at 120 g/ha + stefes mero surfactant at 733 g/ha + atrazine 500 g/ha. Thus, early post-emergence application of tembotrione at 80–100 g/ha + stefes mero surfactant at 733 g/ha + atrazine 500 g/ha appeared to be the most promising weed management practice for higher weed control efficiency, yield, gross and net return of Kharif (wet) season maize in lateritic soil of West Bengal. Top Keywords Atrazine, Kharif maize, Stefes mero surfactant, Tembotrione, Yield. Top |