Competitive Ability of Wheat Crop against Different Densities of Avena fatua and Silybum marianum
Competitive Ability of Wheat Crop against Different Densities of Avena fatua and Silybum marianum
Ijaz Ahmad* and Bakhtiar Gul
ABSTRACT
A pot experiment was conducted to measure the competitive-ability of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) against wild oat (Avena fatua L.) and milk thistle (Silybum marianum L. Gaertn), the two most troublesome weeds of the wheat crop in Pakistan. Four treatments viz. wheat, wheat + S. marianum, wheat + A. fatua, wheat + S. marianum and A. fatua were examined to check their effect on the growth dynamics of wheat, A. fatua and S. marianum. The experiment was carried out in 2018-2019 using Completely Randomized Design (CRD) and replicated thrice. The results showed that all the wheat growth parameters were significantly affected by the weeds competition in both the studied years. The maximum wheat plant height (38.1 and 39.4) was recorded in wheat, having no weeds competition during the year 2018 and 2019 respectively. Whereas, the minimum plant height (cm) 30.4 and 31.9 was recorded in wheat infested with Avena fatua and Silybum marianum. Due to the large leaf canopy of S. marianum, it is not possible for other species to sustain, because several broadleaf weeds are highly competitive and make a high canopy over the crop to get more light for photosynthesis and the morphological mimicry of A. fatua with wheat crop during the vegetative growth stage. It cannot be easily distinguished from wheat seedlings. Results showed that wheat in weed-free conditions had maximum biomass, and leaf area index in both the growing season as compared to weeds (A. fatua and S. Marianum) infested wheat. Therefore, management of these weeds i.e., A. fatua and S. marianum is highly desirable to avoid crop-weed competition and enhance crop production.
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