Riches, C.R., Mazid, M.A., Uddin Ahmed, G.J., Mortimer, A.M., Jabbar, M.A. and Orr, A. (2008) Improved weed management for transplanted aman rice. In: Riches, C.R., Harris, D., Johnson, D.E. and Hardy, B., (eds.) Improving agricultural productivity in rice-based systems of the High Barind Tract of Bangladesh. International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños (Philippines), pp. 91-103. ISBN 978-971-22-0229-2

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Abstract

Rainfed transplanted rice grown in the monsoon aman season accounts for more than 50% of the total area planted to rice in Bangladesh. Because of rising input costs, including labor, farmers are searching for ways to maintain income, by either increasing yields or reducing costs or both. On-farm trials in the High Barind Tract indicated that one-third of the farmers would be able to gain 0.5 t ha–1 or more additional grain by undertaking more intensive or timelier weeding than is usual under current management practices. Higher yields were observed on-farm from a preemergence application of butachlor(1.25 kg a.i. ha–1) compared with hand weeding twice. In Comilla District, trials of a range of weed management practices demonstrated that the yield advantage over the farmers’ practice, either one or two hand weedings, was on average 355 ± 18 kg ha–1 for Rifit (pretilachlor), 281 ± 39 kg ha–1 for Machete (butachlor), and 210 ± 34 kg ha–1 for Ronstar (oxadiazon), each followed by one hand weeding in aman 2003. Partial budgets calculated for inputs and returns showed that hand weeding was less profitable than herbicides in rainfed rice,incurring US$72 ha–1 lower return. Use of a push weeder plus one hand weeding was less profitable than herbicides, incurring $49 ha–1 lower return. To date, herbicides have been largely promoted for irrigated rice in Bangladesh. The trial results demonstrate that under rainfed conditions early in the aman season, water levels are adequate for herbicides to work effectively. The use of herbicides allows timely weed control when there is a shortage of labor and avoids transaction costs, such as the provision of meals and time needed to source laborers. Herbicides are likely to be adopted by growers experiencing labor shortages, particularly on large farms and for farmers seeking to reduce input costs. Sharecroppers and tenant farmers who pay rent are primarily concerned about obtaining a high aman yield, so innovations that raise aman yields (such as herbicides that will have a similar effect as a timely first weeding) are also likely to be adopted on sharecropped plots, even when costs are not shared between the landlord and tenant.

Item Type:	Book Section
Additional Information:	[1] Forms the chapter in third section entitled "Opportunities for improving rice production in the High Barind Tract" - C.R. Riches was also lead editor of publication. [2] Edited by C.R. Riches, D. Harris, D.E. Johnson, and B. Hardy. 2008. Improving Agricultural Productivity in Rice-Based Systems of the High Barind Tract of Bangladesh. Los Baños (Philippines): International Rice Research Institute. 215 p. [2] This publication is copyrighted by the International Rice Research Institute (2008) and is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License (Unported). Unless otherwise noted, users are free to copy, duplicate, or reproduce, and distribute, display, or transmit any of the articles or portions of the articles, and to make translations, adaptations, or other derivative works under the following conditions: a: Attribution: The work must be attributed, but not in any way that suggests endorsement by IRRI or the author(s). b: NonCommercial: This work may not be used for commercial purposes. c: ShareAlike: If this work is altered, transformed, or built upon, the resulting work must be distributed only under the same or similar license to this one. To view the full text of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/. [3] Stemmed from discussions at Workshop: Improving agricultural productivity in rice based systems of the High Barind Tract, held 4-5 March 2006, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	weeding, weed management, aman rice
Subjects:	S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General) S Agriculture > SB Plant culture
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute > Agriculture, Health & Environment Department
Related URLs:	Publisher Organisation Organisation
Last Modified:	28 Jan 2020 13:43
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/2152

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