DIVERSITY, DYNAMICS AND EFFICIENT WEED CONTROL MEASURES IN MUSTARD FIELD AT RAMGHAT SURKHET

Weed management in agricultural fields is an important operation for better yield. The recent study was mainly focused on weed diversity, dynamics and control measures in mustard fields at Bheriganga Municipality of Surkhet district. The weeds on the field compete for nutrients, water, and sunlight with major crops. The study mainly focused on weed management practices in mustard fields conducted by a defined experimental plot. By adopting a randomized block design, the plots were prepared and assigned various treatments such as weed check, hand weeding at different intervals, and the application of herbicides like Pendimethalin, Oxyfluorfen, Isoproturon, Quizalofop, Oxadiaryzl, and Clodinoflop. Weed populations were observed at different growth stages, and weed dry matter was measured to assess biomass production. Weed control efficiency (WCE) and a Weed Index (WI) were calculated to quantify the effectiveness of different control methods. The results highlight the significant efficacy of hand weeding, with a control efficiency of 94.1%. Among the herbicides tested, Pendimethalin showed the highest control efficiency at 73.42%, followed by Oxyfluorfen, Isoproturon, and Quizalofop. The study concluded that integrated weed management strategies with herbicides and manual weeding contributed to successful weed control and enhances the productivity of the mustard crop in Ramghat Surkhet.