20. Effects of post-emergence herbicides on weeds in wheat and the yield of the crop

Author: Arben Mehmeti, Adem Demaj

DOI: n/a

Resume

In wheat production, it is necessary to undertake control of weeds which cause losses of wheat grain yield. A research was carried during the winter season 2004-5 to identify weed species and to investigate the efficacy of herbicides on weeds and their effect on grain yield. Three different herbicides were applied after crop emergence, namely Lintur (a.i. triasulfuron + dicamba), Granstar (a.i. tribenuron-methyl) and Optica combi (a.i. MCPA + mekoprop-P), in the wheat variety Novosadska rana 1 in the region of Prishtina (central part of Kosovo). The trial was set in a randomized block design with four replications and elementary plots of 5m2. A total number of 14 weed species was documented in the wheat crop. The highest number of individuals was recorded for Consolida orientalis (221 plants/m2), Bifora radians (38 plants/m2) and Cirsium arvense (21 plants/m2). In general, all applied herbicides reduced the weed infestation and positively affected the grain yield in comparison to an untreated control. The most efficient herbicides proved to be triasulfuron + dicamba (98.6%) and tribenuron-methyl (97.8%), while the efficacy of MCPA + mekoprop-P (88.7%) was markedly lower. Comparatively high grain yields were found in plots treated with triasulfuron + dicamba (3.6 t/ha) or tribenuron-methyl (3.4 t/ha). The yield in MCPA+mekoprop-P (3.0 t/ha) treated plots was lower.