Influence of Weed Management Practices on Growth and Yield of Aerobic Rice

The present field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of different chemical and non-chemical weed management practices on aerobic rice. The experiment was carried out at the Wetlands Farm of the Department of Farm Management, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, India. Pre emergence (PE) application of pendimethalin (1.0 kg ha-1), EPOE of bispyribac sodium (25 g ha-1) and EPOE of chlorimuron ethyl + metsulfuron methyl (4 g ha-1) were the chemical weed management practices. Daincha intercropping (1:1) fb spreading on 30DAS, Cowpea intercropping (1:1) fb spreading on 30DAS, Coir pith mulching (5 tons ha-1) on 3 DAS, Shredded coconut waste mulching (5 tons ha-1) on 3 DAS along with the combination of mechanical and hand weeding were the non chemical weed management practices. Pre emergence (PE) application of pendimethalin (1.0 kg ha-1) on 3 DAS fb Early post emergence (EPOE) application of bispyribac sodium (25 g ha-1) on 20 DAS recorded significantly higher growth and yield attributes. Sequential application of pendimethalin and bispyribac sodium recorded 4128 kg ha-1 grain yield which was nearly 60 per cent increased over the weedy check. Coir pith mulching @ 5 tons ha-1 on 3 DAS recorded significantly lower grain yield (1840 kg ha-1) over the rest of the treatments.