Effect of herbicides on weed flora, productivity and soil enzymatic activities in kharif maize

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at the Agricultural Research Farm, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, during the 2022 rainy season to study the effects of herbicidal on weed flora, productivity and soil enzymatic activities in kharif maize. The trial was conducted in the Randomized Complete Block Design having nine treatments replicated thrice. Atrazine PE 1.0 kg/ha fb topramezone PoE 25.2 g/ha reduced the weed density and dry weight, with higher weed control efficiency (90.40%), and a lower weed index (9.09%) compared to atrazine PE 1.0 kg/ha fb tembotrione PoE 120 g/ha. This treatment also recorded significantly higher grain yield (5.2 t/ha) than atrazine PE 1.0 kg/ha fb halosulfuron PoE 67.5 g/ha (4.8 t/ha). At harvest, atrazine PE 1.0 kg/ha fb topramezone PoE 25.2 g/ha showed significantly greater dehydrogenase activity (13.61 µg TPF/g soil/24h) and alkaline phosphatase activity (106.88 µg PNP/g soil/h) than atrazine PE 1.0 kg/ha fb halosulfuron PoE 67.5 g/ha. However, soil microbial biomass carbon was lower under atrazine PE 1.0 kg/ha fb topramezone PoE 25.2 g/ha compared to atrazine PE 1.0 kg/ha fb halosulfuron PoE 67.5 g/ha.