Synergistic effects of herbicide and nano-fertilizer integration on weed control, wheat productivity, and economics
1
Authors
-
Durgesh K. Patidar
ICAR- Directorate of Weed Research, Jabalpur
-
Dr. V.K. Choudhary
-
Dr. J. S. Mishra
Keywords:
Herbicide compatibility, Nano fertilizers, Productivity, Weed control, WheatAbstract
Weeds pose a major constraint to wheat production, and herbicides remain one of the most effective and economical tools for their management. Meanwhile, the use of nano-fertilizers is gaining traction due to their efficiency, with top dressing often coinciding with post-emergence herbicide applications. This overlap raises the question of compatibility between herbicides and nano-fertilizers and their combined impact on weed control and crop performance. To address this, the present study evaluated the compatibility of three post-emergence herbicides at field doses with nano-fertilizers (nano-urea and nano-DAP, both individually and in combination). Results revealed that clodinafop + metsulfuron (60 + 4 g ai/ha) combined with nano-urea (4 mL/L) proved most effective, recording the lowest weed density (9.4 no./m²), weed biomass (9.46 g/m²), and the highest weed control efficiency (94.15%). It also showed the lowest weed index and NDVI (0.377) between the rows, whereas the unweeded control had the highest NDVI (0.704), reflecting greater weed pressure. This treatment also significantly improved growth parameters including plant height, tillers/m², dry matter accumulation, leaf area index, crop growth rate, relative growth rate and net assimilation rate as well as yield attributes such as effective tillers, spike length and weight, grains per spike, and test weight. The highest grain yield (4910 kg/ha) and straw yield (6088 kg/ha) were achieved with clodinafop + metsulfuron plus nano-urea, though yields were statistically comparable to other combinations involving metsulfuron and mesosulfuron + iodosulfuron with nano-urea. The same treatment also recorded the highest net returns (₹89,943/ha) and B: C (3.32). Notably, the sole application of mesosulfuron + iodosulfuron (12 + 2.4 g/ha) caused phytotoxicity up to level 3, but this effect was mitigated when used in combination with nano-urea, enabling faster crop recovery.
Downloads
References
Abbas T, Nadeem M A, Tanveer, A, Matloob A, Zohaib A, Ehsan M, Nasir I R. 2015. Herbicide mixtures and row spacing effects likon fenoxaprop resistant Phalaris minor in wheat. International Journal of Agriculture and Biology, 20(12): 2737-2744.
Agricultural Statistics at a Glance. 2024. www.agricoop.nic.in & http://eands.dacnet.nic.in Directorate of Economics & Statistics, Government of India.
Asif M, Poonia T M, Hooda V S, Pradhan D D and Bhavesh. 2023. Effects of Herbicides and Nano Urea Mixture on Weeds, Yield Attributes and Yield of Wheat (Triticum aestivum). International Journal of Environment and Climate Change Volume 13, Issue 12, Page 1211-1220, 2023; Article no.IJECC.111271ISSN:2581-862
Bhullar M S, Chauhan B S and Jennings K M. 2020. Management of weeds in wheat. Crop Protection 138: 105-329.
Choudhary A K, Yadav D S, Sood P, Rahi S, Arya K, Thakur S K. 2021. Post-emergence herbicides for effective weed management, enhanced wheat productivity, profitability and quality in north-western Himalayas: A ‘Participatory-mode’ technology development and dissemination. Sustainability 13, 5425. doi: 10.3390/su13105425
Choudhary M K, Intodia S K, Kaushik M K, Saharan V, Singh D P, Lakhawat, S S and Choudhary M. 2023. Effect of nano urea on growth indices and grain yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under Southern Rajasthan conditions. Biological Forum – An International Journal 15(8a): 326-331.
Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW). 2023-24. Annual Report. Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India. www.agriwelfare.gov.in
Dheer V, Singh K K, Singh J, Kumar Y, Deepu, Yadav R A, Kumar S and Maurya C L. 2024. Effect of inorganic and organic weed management practices on growth and economics in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Journal of Scientific Research and Reports. 30(5): 343-350.
Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO] of the United Nations. 2022. FAOSTAT. http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data. Accessed: November 5, 2024
Goud V V, Deshmukh J P and Kakade S U. 2023. Tillage and weed management effect on wheat in inceptisols grown under soybean-wheat cropping sequence. Indian Journal of Weed Science (2023) 55(4): 448 – 452 http://dx.doi.org/10.5958/0974 8164.2023.00081.3
Kashyap P L, Jasrotia P, Bhardwaj A K, Kumar S and Singh G P. 2018. Scope and applications of nanotechnology for wheat production: A review of recent advances. Wheat and Barley Research, 10(1): 1–14.
Malik R S, Yadav A and Kumar R .2013 Ready-mix formulation of clodinafop-propargyl + metsulfuron-methyl against complex weed flora in wheat. Indian Journal of Weed Science 45(3): 179–182, 2013
Mishra B K and Singh P C. 2024. Application and Effects of Different Herbicides against Weed Flora in Wheat Crop for Sustainable Agriculture. Journal of Experimental Agriculture International 46(5): 282-286.
Mitra B, Barman R and Mondal T. 2019. Control of broad-leaved weeds in wheat under eastern sub-Himalayan plains. Indian Journal of Weed Science 51(1): 27–31.
Patel V K and Pathak R K. 2020. The effect of tillage and weed management practices on yield and nutrient uptake in wheat (Triticum aestivum L), International Journal of Chemical Studies, 8(2): 1429-1433.
Poudel A, Singh S K, Ballesta R J, Jatav S S, Patra A and Pandey A. Effect of Nano Phosphorus Formulation on Growth, Yield and Nutritional Quality of Wheat under Semi Arid Climate. Agronomy. 2023, 13, 768. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13030768
Sarita, Singh I, Mehriya M L and Samota M K. 2022. A study of wheat-weed response and economical analysis to fertilization and post-emergence herbicides under arid climatic conditions. Frontiers in Agronomy DOI 10.3389/fagro.2022.914091
Sarkar A, Singh T, Mondal A, Kumar S, Das T K, Kaur R, Raj R, Upadhyay P K and Sarkar S 2023. Effect of nano-urea and herbicides on yield and yield attributes of wheat (Triticum aestivum) Indian Journal of Agronomy 68 (1): 97 __100 (March 2023)
Tiwari A, Rai O P, Singh G, Sharma J D, Harikesh and Singh V. 2017. Studies on effect of nitrogen and weed management on yield and economics of late sown wheat. Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 6(6): 379–383.
Submitted
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The copyright of the articles published in The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences is vested with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, which reserves the right to enter into any agreement with any organization in India or abroad, for reprography, photocopying, storage and dissemination of information. The Council has no objection to using the material, provided the information is not being utilized for commercial purposes and wherever the information is being used, proper credit is given to ICAR.
How to Cite
