Nukul Kumar, Aman Parashar, Priyanka Chand and Hiral Gundaniya
Abstract
Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), widely recognized as the âKing of Vegetables,â is an essential food crop cultivated across India, including Madhya Pradesh. Although it is nutritionally rich- containing vital vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and carbohydrates- its yield potential is often hindered by inadequate weed control. Weeds can cause substantial yield losses, ranging from 25% to 50%, due to competition for essential resources like water, nutrients, and sunlight. Traditional hand weeding practices are laborious, time-consuming, and frequently inefficient. To address this issue, a field experiment was conducted during the Rabi season of 2022 at the Crop Research Centre, ITM University, Gwalior (M.P.) to assess the impact of different doses of Bentazone and Metribuzin on the growth and yield of potato variety Pukhraj. The experiment followed a Randomized Block Design comprising ten treatments and three replications. The treatments involved pre- and post-emergence applications of Bentazone, Metribuzin, Oxyfluorfen, and a combination of Metribuzin + Clodinafop. Findings revealed that both weed-free plots and the treatment with Metribuzin 70% EC + Clodinafop 15% EC at 300+260 g a.i/ha significantly enhanced growth parameters, including plant height, number of leaves, number of haulms, leaf area index, and haulm dry weight. These treatments also yielded the highest tuber production (30.49 t/ha and 28.95 t/ha, respectively) along with improved tuber size distribution. In contrast, untreated weedy plots exhibited the lowest performance across all metrics. The study concludes that integrated weed management using Metribuzin + Clodinafop is both effective and cost-efficient in boosting potato yield by ensuring optimal weed control throughout the crop cycle.