Weed management

Weedicides are weed-killing chemicals that are sprayed on fields to eliminate weeds. A dicot weedicide is 22, 44-D (22, 44-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid). Weeds are plants that grow between the rows of crops. Weedicides are chemicals that are sprayed across a field to kill weeds. They will have no impact on crop plants.

Black plastic film does not allow the sunlight to pass through on to the soil. Photosynthesis does not take place in the absence of sunlight below black film. Hence, it arrests weed growth.

Chemical herbicides are not permitted in organic farming. As a result, only hand weeding is possible. To control weeds, many cultural methods like as tillage, floods, and mulching can be applied. In addition, biological (pathogen) methods can be utilised to manage weed-related losses. A cover crop can be planted when the ground is fallow to suppress weeds and improve soil quality. Weed growth can also be slowed by employing drip irrigation, which limits the amount of water that reaches the plant line.

Parthenium weed can be controlled by manual weeding and destruction of Parthenium plants before flowering using machineries. Uniform spraying of sodium chloride 200g + 2 ml soap oil/litre of water (or) Spraying of 2,4-D sodium salt 8 g or glyphosate10 ml + 20g ammonium sulphate + 2 ml soap solution/litre of water before flowering also helps. Parthenium can be replaced by raising raising competitive plants like Cassia serecea and Abutilon indicum on fallow lands. Biological control of parthenium can be done using Mexican beetle, fungal pathogen and nematodes.

Cultural methods for weed management include hand hoeing ,Inter cultivation, crisscross sowing. Hand weeding is done after 35th day of sowing. Spray Isoproturon 800 g/ha as pre-emergence spraying 3 days after sowing. Use of MCPA (1 – 1.5 kg ai/ha) dissolved in 700 – 800 litres applied at 25 – 30 DAS Efficiency can be increased by mixing urea@ 3%. Mixture of Isoproturon (0.75 kg ai/ha) and 2, 4D (0.4 kg ai/ha) during 30- 35 DAS.