Faisalabad: The agriculture experts have urged farmers to take measures for immediate removal of weeds from the wheat crop as they could cause severe damage to the wheat production and constrain the farmers to bear colossal financial loss.
A spokesman for Agriculture (Extension) Department said here on Saturday that a guideline was released for the wheat growers, highlighting ill-impacts of weeds on quality and quantity of grains when these were not removed in-time from the fields.
He said that better wheat production requires proper land preparation, selection of quality seeds, balanced fertilization, timely sowing, and effective weed removal. If the weeds were not removed timely, these could hamper the per-acre production as the weeds compete with the crops for nutrients, water and air, he added.
He said that the experts had estimated that weeds can cause about 42 % reduction in wheat yield. Hence, the farmers should immediate take steps for removal of weeds because presence of weed seeds in the crop can
also affect quality and lower the market rate, he added.
He said that two types of weeds were commonly found in wheat fields including broadleaf weeds and grass-like weeds. The experts advised that best time for weed control is when the weeds have developed 2-3 leaves.
After first irrigation, the farmers should use harrow twice when the soil is moist to manage weeds. If manual removal is not possible due to lack of labor, the herbicides can be used under the supervision of local agricultural experts, he added.
He also advised the farmers to follow recommendations of agriculture experts to obtain better wheat production and higher quality yields. It would ultimately result in improved market returns, he added.