Performance of pyroxasulfone under simulated rainfall timings in wheat sown with super seeder

AbstractA field experiment was conducted for two-years to study the effect of simulated rainfall on the efficacy of pre-emergence application (PE) of pyroxasulfone in the presence of varying amount of retained rice residues in wheat sown with Super seeder. The study was carried out at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India using factorial RCBD with treatments including: two levels of rice residue loads (0 and 7 t/ha), two doses of pyroxasulfone (127.5 and 191.25 g/ha) PE and three simulated rainfall timings (2, 5 and 10 days after sowing); and two standard controls: unsprayed and pyroxasulfone 127.5 g/ha. Incorporation of rice residue 7 t/ha recorded higher wheat dry matter accumulation and grain yield (3.8 and 3.7%) over residue removal during both the years. Pyroxasulfone 191.25 g/ha PE recorded significantly lower density and biomass of Phalaris minor compared to pyroxasulfone 127.5 g/ha PE. The tested simulated rainfall timings did not significantly affect the weed density, weed biomass and wheat grain yield and did not cause any phyto-toxicity due to pyroxasulfone.