Competitive Ability of Winter Wheat Cultivars with Wild Oat (<i>Avena ludoviciana</i>)

Field experiments were conducted during the winters of 1986–87 and 1987–88 at Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, India to classify the ability of winter wheat cultivars to compete with wild oat. Wild oat reduced winter wheat grain yield by 17 to 62% depending upon cultivar. WH-147 and HD-2285 were the most competitive cultivars. Winter wheat dry matter accumulation and grain yield were negatively correlated with wild oat dry matter. A high number of tillers, particularly in HD-2009, WH-291, and S-308, did not always translate into grain yield advantage in wild oat-infested plots. Wheat height and dry matter accumulation per unit area during early crop growth were better characters than number of tillers for predicting the competitive ability of wheat cultivars to wild oat.