Impact of Weed Management Strategies on Growth and Yield under Direct-Seeded Rice (Oryza sativa L.) in Eastern Uttar Pradesh, India

A field experiment was conducted during the Kharif 2022 at farm, Department of agronomy, Tilak Dhari Mahavidyalaya Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh to evaluate the weed management in direct seeded rice. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design (RBD) with ten treatments including viz. three levels of Bispyribac sodium post-emergence (PoE), Butachlor pre-emergence (PE), Pendimethalin (PE), Pendimethalin (PE) followed by (fb)one hand weeding, Pretilachlor (PoE), two hand weeding, weed free and weedy and three replications for efficient weed management in direct seeded rice. Results of the experiment showed that growth attributes viz, (plant height, leaf area per plant, number of tillers m-1 and dry matter accumulation g plant-1) and yield of rice found maximum in treatment T9 i.e., weed free, over the rest of treatments. Whereas treatment T8-two hand weeding at 20 and 40 DAS, T7-pendimethalin1000 g a.i. ha-1 as PE fb one hand weeding at 40 DAS, T3- Bispyribac Sodium (10 SC) @ 30 g a.i. ha-1 as PoE 20 DAS were statistically at par to the treatment T9. Similarly, the highest number of tillers was found in T9 i.e., weed free, which was at par with two-hand weeding at 20 and 40 DAS, pendimethalin 1000 g a.i. ha-1 (PE), one-hand weeding at 40 DAS, and Bispyribac Sodium (10 SC) @ 30 g a.i. ha-1 as PoE 20 DAS. The study concludes that pendimethalin (1000 g a.i. ha⁻¹) followed by one hand weeding at 40 DAS, along with bispyribac sodium (30 g a.i. ha⁻¹), can be viable alternatives to manual weeding, ensuring effective weed control and higher rice yields in direct-seeded systems.