TITLE:
Integrated Use of Herbicide and Crop Mulch in Suppressing Weed Growth in a Dry-Seeded Rice System
AUTHORS:
Bhagirath Singh Chauhan, Seth Bernard Abugho
KEYWORDS:
Grain Yield; Integrated Weed Management; Rice Residue; Weed Biomass
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.4 No.8,
August
5,
2013
ABSTRACT: Dry-seeded
rice production systems are increasing in many Asian countries because of labor
and water scarcities. However, weeds are the main biological constraints in
these systems. Herbicides are widely used to manage weeds but they do not
provide effective weed control. The use of crop residue as mulch can suppress
weed emergence and weed biomass but mulch alone does not provide effective weed
control. The integrated use of herbicide and mulch, however, could provide more
effective and sustainable weed control in dry-seeded rice systems. A study was
conducted in two consecutive rice growing seasons to evaluate the combined effect
of herbicide (treated and nontreated) and rice straw mulch (0, 2, and 4 t.ha-1) on weed growth and rice yield in
a dry-seeded rice system. In the nontreated plots, weed biomass decreased with
increases in mulch amounts, whereas weed biomass in the herbicide-treated plots
was similar at different mulch amounts. Overall, herbicide treatments provided
better weed control than the mulch treatments. In the nontreated plots, grain
yield was similar at different mulch amounts, whereas grain yield in the
herbicide-treated plots was greater when the field was mulched with 4 t.ha-1 of rice straw than with no mulch or mulched with only 2 t.ha-1 of
rice straw. The results suggest that integrated use of mulch and
herbicides can help weed control and increase crop yield in dry-seeded
rice.