COMPETITIVE EFFECTS OF WILD OATS ON WHEAT YIELD AND YIELD COMPONENTS UNDER AGRO-ECOLOGICAL CONDITIONS OF DERA ISMAIL KHAN, PAKISTAN

A field experiment was conducted at Research Farm, Faculty of Agriculture, Gomal University Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan during winter 2012. The experiment was conducted to determine the effect of wild oats (Aveva fatua L.) densities on yield components of wheat (Triticum eastivum L.). The experiment design used was the randomized complete block design and each of the experimental treatment were replicated three times. A wheat cultivar sahar-2006 was grown at densities of 100, 90, 80, 70, 60, 50, 40, 30, 20 and 10 plants m^-2 and infested with nine wild oats densities i.e. 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90 plants m^-2. A control treatment having the wheat plants monoculture was maintained for comparison. The data were recorded on yield and yield contributing parameters. The results showed the maximum wheat plant height (77.33 cm), number of tillers (256.30 m^-2), 1000-grain weight (45 g), biological yield (9.2 ton ha^-1), grain yield (4.2 ton ha^-1), and harvest index (46.11%) recorded in the control treatment. The minimum wheat plant height (69 cm), number of tillers (100 m^-2), 1000-grain weight (35 g), biological yield (3.6 t ha^-1), grain yield (1.2 ton ha^-1), and harvest index (35.34 %) of wheat were recorded where 90 wild oats plants were present. From the study it could be concluded that wheat yield and yield components were greatly affected by wild oats densities. Judicious control measures for wild oats are recommended to be adopted that can control wild oats in wheat crop to reduce the crop losses due to this noxious weed.