AUTHOR=Raj Rishi , Das T. K. , Pankaj  , Banerjee Tirthankar , Ghosh A. , Bhattacharyya Ranjan , Chakraborty Debashis , Prasad Shiv , Babu Subhash , Kumar Vikash , Sen Suman , Ghosh Sonaka 

TITLE=Co-implementation of conservation tillage and herbicides reduces weed and nematode infestation and enhances the productivity of direct-seeded rice in North-western Indo-Gangetic Plains

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems

VOLUME=Volume 6 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-food-systems/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2022.1017013

DOI=10.3389/fsufs.2022.1017013

ISSN=2571-581X

ABSTRACT=
Direct-seeded rice (DSR) can be a resource-efficient alternative to puddled transplanted rice (PTR), but weeds and nematodes pose severe challenges. Conservation agriculture (CA)-based DSR may inhibit/ influence weeds/ nematodes, which can be further intensified adopting better weed control. Hence, this experiment was undertaken. Five CA-based DSR practices involving zero tillage, residue retention, brown manuring, superimposed with four weed control/ herbicides options were compared with PTR in a split-plot design replicated thrice. All DSRs encountered more weeds and plant parasitic nematodes (PPNs) than PTR. Root-knot nematodes (RKN) infested five among 14 weeds present in rice and was first time found in Dinebra retroflexa. A CA-based zero till (ZT)DSR+ mungbean residue- ZT wheat+rice residue- ZT mungbean+wheat residue system reduced weeds significantly. It reduced RKN galls in Echinochloa colona, Echinochloa crusgalli and rice plants by 72%, 58%, and 56%, respectively. In soil too, RKN and other PPNs, namely, Tylenchorhynchus brevilineatus and Pratylenchus thornei were reduced by 39%, 32%, and 26%, respectively, which gave 6.3-22.7% higher yield in this CA practice than other DSRs. Pyrazosulfuron-ethyl, cyhalofop-butyl, and bispyribac-Na applied sequentially reduced weeds and PPNs, increased rice yield by 176.1%, and were at below detectable levels in soil, rice grains, and straw and safe for rotational crops. The above ZT-based triple cropping with residue supplemented with herbicides through better weed and nematode control, would be an alternative to PTR in the North-wester Indo-Gangetic Plains of India and in similar agro-ecologies of the tropics/sub-tropics. This study would help farmers and policy makers to design integrated weed and nematode management modules using tillage, crop residue, and herbicides/pesticides for higher DSR yield and income.