ASSESSMENT OF DIFFERENT HERBICIDES FOR EFFECTIVE WEED MANAGEMENT IN DIRECT SEEDED RICE TECHNOLOGYBadal Verma, Manish Bhan, A.K. Jha, Muskan Porwal and Raghav PatelAbstract Rice is one of the most important cereal crops grown worldwide, feeding 60% of the world. Direct-seeded rice replaces puddled transplanted rice due to an increasing water crisis and a labour shortage among farmers in many Asian regions. However, weeds pose a significant obstacle to the growth of direct-seeded rice. In this context, a field experiment was conducted at the research farm of JNKVV, Jabalpur, India (23º 90' N, 79º 58' E, and 411 m above MSL) under natural weed infestations during the kharif season of 2019. The objective was to evaluate the herbicidal effects on diversified weed flora, growth parameters, and rice yield to optimize herbicide doses for sustainable rice production. Two agro ecosystems, including rainfed and irrigated and eight weed control treatments, including herbicidal applications, hand weeding and weedy check, were laid out in a split-plot design with three replications. Among the herbicidal applications, bispyribac sodium at 25 g/ha effectively reduced total weed density (3.41/m2) and dry weight (4.13 g/m2) over control at 90 days after sowing and as a consequence, yielded a maximum (2768 kg/ha). Based on overall performance, bispyribac sodium at 25 g/ha may be considered the best herbicidal treatment for effective weed control and produced the most significant values for growth parameters, yield parameters and grain yield in direct-seeded rice. |