INFLUENCE OF IRRIGATION LEVELS AND INTEGRATED WEED MANAGEMENT ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF AEROBIC RICE (Oryza sativa L.)

Abstract

The experiment was conducted to study the influence of four irrigation levels (IW/CPE ratios of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0) and six integrated weed management practices of application of pendimethalin/butachlor @ 1.0 kg ha-1 as PE fb fenoxyprop-p-ethyl @ 60 g ha-1 at 15 DAS and metsulfuron methyl + chlorimuron ethyl @ 4.0 g ha-1 as post emergence herbicides followed by MW + HW at 45 DAS, weed free check and unweeded control on growth and yield of aerobic rice. The results revealed that higher growth
parameters (plant height, tillers m-2 and dry matter production) at harvest and grain yield, straw yield and harvest index were recorded by irrigations given at IW/CPE ratios of 2.0 and 1.5 over other irrigation levels (0.5 & 1.0) and among weed management practices weed free check, application of pendimethalin/butachlor @1.0 kg ha-1 as PE fb metsulfuron methyl + chlorimuron ethyl @ 4.0 g ha-1 at 25 DAS + MW fb HW at 45 DAS were the best practices and followed to this pendimethalin/butachlor @ 1.0 kg ha-
1 applied as PE fb fenoxyprop-p-ethyl @ 60 g ha-1 at 15 DAS fb MW + HW at 45 DAS recorded lower but higher than unweeded control. Combination of irrigation level at IW/CPE ratio of 2.0 along with weed free check and same level of irrigation (2.0) along with pendimethalin/butachlor @ 1.0 kg ha-1 applied as PE fb metsulfuron methyl + chlorimuron ethyl @ 4.0 g ha-1 at 25 DAS fb MW + HW at 45 DAS recorded higher yields and harvest index during kharif 2013, 2014 and pooled mean.