Effect of imidacloprid and fungicide treatments on germination, seedling growth and termite damage in wheat

Abstract

In north western plains of India, early season pests like termites, root aphid and other diseases cause huge losses to spring wheat. To ensure high yield, economically viable and environmentally safe method of pre-sowing seed treatments (ST) are used to protect crops. Effects of time intervals before sowing and kind of pesticide seed treatments on germination were evaluated in paper roll experiments while germination, termite damage and yield, were evaluated in field experiments. The paper roll experiment indicated that germination and seedling growth decreased significantly if seeds were treated 31 days before sowing. Effects of kind of pesticide on germination were non-significant, however, length of seedling and vigour index reduced significantly when seeds were treated with combination of insecticide and fungicide(s). Seedling length (29.05 cm) and vigour index (1347.56) were maximum in untreated seed and these were similar to imidacloprid treated seeds (29.00 cm and 1340.06). The interaction effects of time interval × kind of pesticides were non-significant for germination, seedling length and vigour index. The field experiment confirmed that germination was not affected by kind of pesticide used for control of termites and fungal diseases. At the same time, ST with pesticides one day before sowing (alone or in combination) resulted in significant decrease in termite damage and increased seed yield. Overall, it can be concluded that all combination treatments did not affect germination adversely, and in some instances it improved the seedling growth significantly as compared to individual fungicide and insecticide treatments.