Wheat response and weed-suppressive ability in the field application of a nanoencapsulated disulfide (DiS-NH2) bioherbicide mimic

Improving the efficacy of bioherbicides to overcome weed resistance phenomena is one of the main challenges within agriculture. Organic encapsulation is attracting attention as an alternative and eco-friendly tool, mainly in organic farming. In this research, for the first time, across three different wheat field trials, we tested the weed-suppressive ability (WSA) and crop response of a nanoparticle formulation of DiS-NH2 (2,20 -disulfanediyldianiline) applied as post-emergence foliar herbicide, both at standard (T1, 0.75 g m−2 ) and double dosages (T2, 1.5 g m−2 ), compared to no weeding (NC) and chemical weed control (PC). Averaged over locations, T2 showed the highest WSA (51.3%), followed by T1 (40.9%) and PC (33.5%). T2 induced also a wheat grain yield and a plant height comparable to PC (3185 kg ha−1 and 67.7 cm vs. 3153 kg ha−1 and 67.7 cm, respectively). Moreover, compared to NC, T2 increased the number of spikes m−2 (+19%) and the number of kernel spikes−1 (+26%). Similar results were observed for T1, which caused also a significant reduction in non-vitreous kernels (−40%). These promising results suggest that the nanoencapsulated DiS-NH2 could be a good candidate as a post-emergence bioherbicide in wheat crop production.