Evaluation of atrazine 50% WP herbicide for weed control in Maize (Zea mays L.) of Jhabua hills zone of M.P

A field experiment was conducted during kharif season of 2015 at Zonal agricultural research station, Jhabua with the objective to assess the bio-efficacy of atrazine herbicide against complex weed flora and yield of maize crop. The experiment consisted of six treatments, was laid out in randomized block design with three replications. Results revealed that all the weed control treatments significantly reduce the weed density and weed dry matter at 30 and 60 DAS. Atrazine 50% WP @ 1 kg/ha significantly reduced the weed count of grassy as well as broadleaved weeds at 30 and 60 DAA and found at par with Atrazine 50% WP @ 1.5 kg/ha and Atrazine 50% WP @ 2.0 kg/ha. However, better efficacy was observed with higher dose of atrazine viz., Atrazine 1.5 kg and 2.0 kg/ha. Hand weeding was also found as an effective tool for controlling the weed biomass at early stage of observation (30 DAS) but on later stage of crop it proves less effective due to emergence of weeds which further reduce the yield. Further, maize yield (43.43 q/ha) was also found significantly superior in Atrazine 1.0 kg/ha as compared to Atrazine 0.5 kg/ha, hand weeding a 20 DAS and control plot and found at par with higher doses of atrazine. Highest net return of Rs 43203/ha and B:C ration of 3.43 was observed in Atrazine 1.5 kg/ha.