Impact of Integrated Weed Management Strategies on Weed Density and Biomass in Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

To assess the effectiveness of various weed management practices on controlling weed density and dry weight in rice (Oryza sativa L.). A field experiment was carried out during 2022 and 2023 at the Crop Research Centre, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Meerut, in the Indo-Gangetic plains In Randomized Block Design (RBD) with 12 treatments, each replicated thrice. The treatments included a weedy check, a weed-free condition, farmer’s practice of one hand weeding at 40 days after transplanting (DAT), Pyrazosulfuron applied at 150 g ai ha-1 as a pre-emergence herbicide, Pyrazosulfuron 150 gm ai ha-1 followed by one hand weeding at 40 DAT, Bispyribac sodium at 25 g ai ha-1 applied 15 days after transplanting as a post-emergence herbicide, Bispyribac sodium at 25 g ai ha-1 followed by one hand weeding at 40 DAT, Ethoxy sulfuron applied at 20 g ai ha-1 as a pre-emergence herbicide, Ethoxy sulfuron 20 gm active ingredient per hectare followed by one hand weeding at 40 DAT, Penoxsulam applied at 22 g ai ha-1as a post-emergence herbicide, Penoxsulam 22 g active ingredient per hectare followed by one hand weeding, and a combination of Pyrazosulfuron 150 gm active ingredient per hectare as pre-emergence, followed by Penoxsulam 22 g ai ha-1 as post-emergence, and one hand weeding at 40 DAT. Weed density and dry weight were recorded at 30, 60, and 90 days after transplanting using quadrat sampling. The weed-free treatment consistently exhibited the lowest weed density and dry weight across both years, whereas the untreated weedy check resulted in the highest weed density and dry weight throughout the study. Among the herbicide treatments, the combination of Pyrazosulfuron and Penoxsulam with one hand weeding was found to be the most effective in significantly reducing weed density and dry weight.