INTEGRATED WEEDS MANAGEMENT IN DRY-SEEDED BASMATI RICE
T. H. Awan1, M. U. Saleem1, S. Hussain2, S. Ahmed3 and H. H. Ali4
1Rice Research Institute, Kala Shah Kaku, Punjab, Pakistan; 2Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Rice Program, Kala Shah Kaku, Punjab, Pakistan; 3International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Bangladesh office .
4Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan.
Corresponding Author’s email: tahirawanrri@gmail.com, t.awanuplb@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
The simultaneous emergence of rice and weed seedlings under alternate wetting and drying field conditions favors high weed infestation in dry-seeded rice (DSR) systems. Due to high weed pressure in DSR, a single weed management approach often provides sub-optimal weed control. Therefore, weed management in DSR systems demands an integrated approach. Field experiments for weed management in dry-seeded rice were conducted at Rice Research Institute, Kala Shah Kaku, Lahore, during 2010 and 2011. Weed control treatments i.e. bispyribac sodium, ethoxysulfuron, bispyribac sodium + hand weeding, ethoxysulfuron + hand weeding, single hand weeding, and double hand weeding were compared with the weedy check in a randomized complete block design. Results revealed that maximum weeds control (97.2%) was achieved in the double hand weeded plots and in the plots treated with bispyribac sodium + hand weeding (94.5%) during the first year. However, during the second-year maximum weed control (98.3%) was obtained in bispyribac sodium + hand weeded plots, which was at par with double hand weeding (93.5%) and ethoxysulfuron + hand weeding (93.0%). Bispyribac sodium + hand weeded plots produced a maximum number of tillers m-2 (338 and 297), the longest panicles (27 and 28.2 cm) with the maximum number of grains/panicle (116.3 and 121.8) during both years. The highest paddy yield (3.2-4.0 t ha-1) was also obtained from the plots where bispyribac sodium + hand weeding was performed, whereas, lowest paddy yield (0.9-1.1 t ha-1) was achieved in the nontreated plots. Results from the study concluded that integration of hand weeding with a post-emergence application of bispyribac sodium is the best weed management option in DSR for controlling weeds as well as higher paddy grain yield.
Keywords: Bispyribac sodium; ethoxysulfuron; herbicides; hand weeding; weed control efficiency; yield and yield components
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