Comparative Efficacy of Weed Management Practices on Grain and Straw Yields of Wheat

Abstract

Wheat is central to Afghanistan's food security. It accounts for 76 percent of the annual grain cereal harvest and 57 percent of the country's total food crop production. Several factors, such as low-yielding varieties, low soil fertility, low-quality agrochemicals, widespread pest and disease infestations, and widespread distribution of weeds, are the leading causes of low wheat productivity in the country. The current study was conducted at the Student Research farm of the Faculty of Agriculture at Kabul University to determine the overall effects of weeds on wheat grain and straw yields and to evaluate and compare different weed management practices in the wheat field. After applying the weed management practices, among the treatments, T1, T3, and T4 showed only 8.3, 5, and 2.3 percent weed populations, respectively, compared to the untreated control. Regarding grain and straw yields, mechanical control (hand weeding) ranked first with a grain yield of 4,867 kg/ha, followed by T1 (4,580 kg/ha), T3 (4,513 kg/ha), T2 (4,133 kg/ha), and T5 (3,416 kg/ha), respectively. The difference in straw yield among the treatments was not significant; however, mechanical control ranked first (7,103 kg/ha), followed by T1 (6,783 kg/ha), T3 (6,700 kg/ha), T2 (6,207 kg/ha), and T5 (5,280 kg/ha), respectively. The study findings concluded that by eliminating weeds, wheat grain and straw yields could be increased by an average of 30 and 26 percent, respectively. As broad-leaved weeds are widely distributed in the wheat fields, applying relative herbicides such as 2,4-D is more effective and recommended for all cultivation methods.