EFFECT OF SOWING TIME AND WEED MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON WEED DYNAMICS, PRODUCTIVITY, AND ECONOMICS OF DIRECT-SEEDED RICEOscar Toppo, M.L. Kewat2, A.K. Jha, Pushpendra Singh Yadav and Badal VermaAbstract Weed management is an integral part of direct seeded rice technology owing to a very high weed infestation. Thus, in order to control the diverse weed flora using the most appropriate herbicide and devise the most effective date of sowing in the DSR, a two-year field experiment was conducted during the kharif season of 2019 and 2020 at Zonal Agricultural Research station Powarkheda, Narmadapuram, JNKVV Jabalpur. The field experiment was laid out in split plot design with three main plot treatments and five sub plot treatments and replicated thrice. The results revealed that late sowing of DSR on 20th July and post emergence application of bispyribac sodium 25 g/ha had lesser weed density; weed dry weight and higher weed control efficiency (56.42% and 66.19 %) among all other treatments. However, plant growth characters, yield attributes and grain yield were higher with the early sowing of DSR on 20th June and early post emergence application of bispyribac sodium 25g/ha. The early sowing on 20th June along with the application of bispyribac sodium 25g/ha resulted in highest net monetary returns (83901 Rs/ha) which also increased the B:C ratio (3.1). Thus, it was concluded that the early sowing of direct seeded rice along with early post emergence application of bispyribac sodium can control the weeds and increase the grain yield and can prove to be a promising technology adopted by the farmers. |