Weed management in direct seeded rice Impact of biotic constraint and its sustainable management options

Abstract

Integrated approaches are suggested for sustainable weed control in direct-seeded rice, such as the use of clean certified seeds, higher seeding densities, cultivation of competitive variety, stale seed-bed preparation, crop rotation along with a rotation of herbicides with different mode of actions followed by manual weeding and rouging after mid-stage of rice growth. Need-based chemical weed management through herbicide, herbicide mixtures, identification of new herbicides against a wide spectrum of weeds, and use of herbicide tolerant rice, would help in achieving a long-term and sustainable weed control in DSR. Judicious mix of more than one method is warranted to keep the weeds under control for higher productivity in direct-seeded rice cultivation.