Current Advances in Agricultural Sciences(An International Journal)
Year : 2012, Volume : 4, Issue : 1
First page : ( 1) Last page : ( 12)
Print ISSN : 0975-2315. Online ISSN : 2394-4471.

Weed management in sorghum: A review

Mishra JS*, Patil JV

Directorate of Sorghum Research, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad-500 030, Andhra Pradesh, India

*Email of corresponding author: mishra@sorghum.res.in: jsmishra31@gmail.com

Online published on 13 October, 2015.

Abstract

Weed management is the most important factor responsible for low productivity of sorghum especially during rainy season. Due to wider row spacing and slow initial growth rate, sorghum is heavily infested with weeds. Weed problems differ with agro-ecological conditions and management practices. Weeds compete with the crop for limited resources of moisture and nutrients and reduce the sorghum yield by 15 to 83% depending upon severity of infestation. The potential benefits of improved technologies will not be realized until appropriate weed management practices are adopted. Weeds in sorghum are mostly controlled by hand weeding and mechanical inter-row cultivation; herbicides are rarely used. Pre-emergence herbicides helped to provide early weed control during rainy season where the scope for timely hand weeding or mechanical inter-row cultivation is uncertain. Integrated weed management combining good agronomic practices, interculturing, judicious use of herbicide and minimum hand weeding for inter-row weed control is suggested. Smother crops such as cowpea could be utilized as an intercrop to substitute pre-emergence herbicides or one-hand weeding. As the grain sorghum is typically grown in dry conditions, the lack of soil moisture may decrease the efficacy of preemergence herbicides. Under such situations, use of herbicide-tolerant sorghum cultivars makes it possible to control weeds with non-selective herbicides.

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Keywords

Allelopathy, Herbicides, Intercropping, Sorghum, Weeds, Weed management.

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