Report on the results of chemical weed control experiments the rubber plantations in South India

Abstract

Experiments were conducted by the Rubber Research Institute of India to study the possibility of chemical weed control in the seedling nurseries and immature rubber plantations. While in the seedling nursery, the use of pre-emergence weedicides was found promising, a sequence of pre-and post-emergence were proced to be advantageous in the planting strips of immature areas. Application of the pre-emergence weedicide Diuron gave good control on teh emergence of weeds in seedling nurseries. In the planting strips of immature areas no weedicide, when applied alone, could effectively controll all the weeds due to the diversity in the weed population. However a cocktail application of different combinations of weedicides were fund to be effective, the ingredients of the cocktail being determined by the dominant type of weed population. Combinations of MSMA and fernoxone were effective for weed population dominated by dicots, especially Eupatorium odoratum. When the grass weeds Imperata cylindrica and Pennisetum sp. dominate, the chemical 2.2-Dichloro propionic acid and MSMA were found to be more effective.