INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF ADJUVANT AND SALINE SPRAY WATERS ON HERBICIDE BIOEFFICACY, WEED INDICES, AND CROP TOLERANCE IN RABI MAIZE (Zea mays L.)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48165/abr.2026.28.01.25Keywords:
Ammonium sulphate, crop resistance index, herbicide efficiency index, saline waters, Zea maysAbstract
Post-emergence herbicides play a vital role in weed control in maize; however, their efficacy is often influenced by the quality of spray fluid. In semi-arid regions like Telangana (India), groundwater is mildly alkaline to alkaline with pH in the range of 6.6 to 8.6. Due to the limited availability of quality water the farmers use ground waters for spraying herbicides. The dissolved salts, particularly calcium and magnesium ions, present in ground waters can antagonize active ingredients of herbicide, thereby reduce weed control efficiency. Therefore, a field study was undertaken to assess the efficacy of post emergence herbicides when applied using different saline waters as spray fluids in maize (Zea mays L.) during rabi 2020-21 at College of Agriculture, Professor Jayashankar Telangana Agricultural University, Hyderabad (India). The experiment was laid out in a factorial randomized block design with different combinations of saline waters, herbicides, and adjuvant treatments. The results divulged that tank mix application of halosulfuron methyl @ 67.5 g ha-1 + atrazine @ 0.5 kg ha-1 with C3S1 saline water along with ammonium sulphate @ 2% as adjuvant (H6W1) resulted in lower weed index (10.3) and higher herbicide efficiency index (1.78) , crop resistance index (6.73, and 7.07 at 30, and 60 DAS) and yield (5006 kg ha-1) of rabi maize compared to the other treatments of saline water without adjuvant next to tank mix application of halosulfuron methyl @ 67.5 g ha-1 + atrazine @ 0.5 kg ha-1 + ammonium sulphate @ 2% at 21 DAS with distilled water (H6W3) indicating that ammonium sulphate as an effective adjuvant in negotiating the impact of hard water cations and improving the herbicide efficacy when saline water is used for spray.
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