Weed Management in Root and Tuber Crops in India: Critical Analysis

Authors

  • Nedunchezhiyan Maniyam Regional Centre of CTCRI PO Dumduma HBC Bhubaneswar - 751019 Odisha
  • Ravindran CS Principal Scientist & Head Division of Crop Production Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Sreekariyam Thiruvananthapuram - 695017, Kerala
  • Ravi Velumani Principal Scientist Division of Crop Production Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Sreekariyam Thiruvananthapuram - 695017, Kerala

Keywords:

Cassava, elephant foot yam, taro, sweet potato, herbicides, polythene mulching, weed control

Abstract

Weeds are ubiquitous and continue to be an important constraint in the production of root and tuber  crops owing to the initial slow growth of these crops. In India, weeding is predominantly done by the  use of manual labour and to a limited extent through mechanical means. Weeding consumes about30% of the total labour input and about 150-200 man days ha-1. The implementation of National  Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme of Government of India has seriously affected the availability of  labour for agricultural operations. The draught animals which were commonly used for intercultural  operations in cassava along with gorru (7 tynes/9 tynes) in Andhra Pradesh are slowly but steadily  making an exit because of high maintenance cost. Farmers are beginning to think of alternatives and  herbicides are the obvious choice for many. Research results revealed that the pre-emergenceherbicides, oxyflourfen, alachlor, butachlor etc. and the post-emergence herbicides, paraquat and  glyphosate in combination with hand weeding was effective in weed control of cassava in various  agro-climatic conditions of India. Pre-emergence application of isoproturon @ 1.0 kg ha-1 was foundeffective in taro weed management. In elephant foot yam, straw mulching, pre-emergence herbicide  oxyflourfen and post-emergence herbicide glyphosate were effective for weed control. The use of  herbicides is expected to grow further in the near future due to non availability of labours and draught  animals for weeding. However, negative effect of herbicides on soil microbial population and starch  concentration in cassava and other root and tuber crops was reported in certain locations. Mulching  using weed control ground cover and diesel operated power weeder are highly suitable for weeding in  widely spaced root and tuber crops. Hence, depending upon agro-ecosystem and socio-economic  conditions, farmers can opt for any combination of weed control methods for effective management  of weeds in root and tuber crops.

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Published

2014-12-31

How to Cite

Maniyam, N., CS, R., & Velumani, R. (2014). Weed Management in Root and Tuber Crops in India: Critical Analysis. JOURNAL OF ROOT CROPS, 39(2), 13–20. Retrieved from https://journal.isrc.in/index.php/jrc/article/view/87

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