Effect of weed management practices on the yield attributes and yield of wet-seeded rice

Abstract

Field experiments were conducted at the Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Killikulam, India during the kharif (July to November) and summer (December to April) seasons of 1999 and 2000 in a randomized block design. The treatment consisted of three pre-emergence herbicides (pretilachlor + safener 0.3 kg ha-1 4 days after sowing [DAS], butachlor 1.0 kg ha-1 8 DAS and pendimethalin 1.0 kg ha-1 8 DAS) and one early post-emergence herbicide (butanil 3.0 ha-1 15 DAS), each in combination with mechanical or hand weeding 30 and 45 DAS. In addition, green manure (Daincha) intercropping and incorporation, mechanical and hand weeding twice alone (25 and 50 DAS) were compared with the unweeded check. The results revealed that the pre-emergence application of pretilachlor + safener 0.3 kg ha-1 + hand weeding twice (30 and 45 DAS) promoted higher yield attributes and maximum yield in wet-seeded rice.