Weeds that grow with crop deplete considerable amount of nutrients and soil moisture thereby resulting poor crop growth Most of the studies showed that mulching could minimize both broadleaf and grassy weeds in wheat Various mulching materials are reported for example organic and synthetic mulch to be effective in suppressing weed growth and conserving soil moisture These synthetic mulches due to their higher cost are limited to only certain high value vegetables and ornamentals Gupta 2002 But organic mulches are cheap and easily available so it can be used in wheat to suppress weeds In addition it has beneficial effects like soil conservation moderation of temperature reduction in salinity and improvement of soil structure Likewise Rahman et al 2005 also reported rice straw mulch to be effective on conserving initial soil moisture and reducing weed growth which ultimately improved the grain yield of wheat Similarly Verma and Acharya 1996 reported that rice straw mulch to be more effective in increasing the nitrogen use efficiency NUE by suppressing weed growth and decreasing the nitrogen loss through volatilization by lowering the soil ph Weeds play a major role in the production systems
