Tillage and herbicides under saline soil: Deciphering weeds, wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) growth and productivity in northern plains of India

A field experiment was conducted during Rabi season of 2019-20 to investigate the effects of tillage and herbicides on weed dynamics, crop growth and wheat yield under saline soil. Results indicated that zero-tillage (ZT) had the lowest density of weed (WD), weed dry weight (WDW) and the highest weed control efficiency (WCE) followed by minimum tillage (MT) and conventional tillage (CT), respectively. The application of Pendi. at 1.0 kg a.i./ha followed by SFS at 0.025 kg a.i./ha substantially decreased the WD, WDW and recorded highest WCE, crop growth and grain yield of wheat compared to Pendi. at 1.5 kg a.i./ha and weedy-check. It was also statistically comparable to SFS + MSM at 0.032 kg a.i./ha. The implementation of ZT combined with the sequential application of Pendi. at 1.0 kg a.i./ha fb SFS at 0.025 kg a.i./ha (T0W2), led to the minimum WD and WDW while maximizing plant height, DMA, tillers and grain yield of wheat. This was closely followed by the treatment T0W3.