Influence of sunflower mediated modifications on microbial composition and yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars

Wheat is a cereal crop and staple food people of Pakistan. Sometimes wheat has to be imported by spending a huge foreign exchange to meet the gap between local produce and requirement. There are several constraints in wheat production and weeds competition is considered to be the major constraints in wheat productivity. There are many ways to control weeds and allelopathic weed control is one of them. The experiment was conducted to study the influence of sunflower-mediated modifications on microbial composition and yield of wheat cultivars at Agronomic Research Area, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad during 2013-14. Experiment was carried out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with factorial arrangement with a net plot size of 8.0 x 1.7 m. The crop was sown on well prepared field. Wheat varieties Lasani-2008 and Saher-2006 were sown. All other agronomic practices except under study were kept uniform. The data related to weed dynamics growth and yield components of crop was recorded using standard procedures and analyzed statistically by applying Fisher's analysis of variance technique. Pot experiment will also be done to evaluate the effect of sunflower crop water extracts and residues on the microbial diversity/ quantification of wheat rhizosphere. Results of study showed that there was no effect of sunfab and sunflower residues on final germination of wheat. However, plant height, number of fertile tillers, number of unfertile tillers, spike length, number of grain per spike, 1000grain weight, biological yield, grain yield and harvest index were significantly affected by sunflower extract and residues. Plant height, number of fertile tillers, number of unfertile tillers, spike length, number of grain per spike, 1000-grain weight, biological yield, grain yield and harvest index was maximum where sunfab @ 20 L per ha sprayed at 45 and 75 days after sowing and sunflower residues @ 80 kg per ha were incorporated in soil before crop sowing. The lowest plant height, number of fertile tillers, number of unfertile tillers, spike length, number of grain per spike, 1000-grain weight, biological yield, grain yield and harvest index were recorded where there was no application of sunfab and sunflower residues incorporation into soil. In case of wheat varieties, statistically both varieties perform equally in case of plant height, number of fertile tillers, number of unfertile tillers, spike length, number of grain per spike, 1000-grain weight, biological yield, grain yield and harvest index. Similarly, maximum weeds suppression was recorded in sunfab and sunflower residues incorporated soil. Soil microbial diversity was also affected by sunflower residues and extract as well. In conclusion, sunflower mediated modification improved crop yield and soil microbial quantification.