POTENTIAL APPLICATION OF A CROP EXTRACT FOR WEED SUPPRESSION AS AN ALTERNATIVE FOR CHEMICAL WEED CONTROL IN RICE

An experiment was conducted to assess the feasibility of using a crop extract (bio-herbicide) as an alternative for chemical weed control in rice. The sorghum water extract, used in this experiment, was prepared by soaking sorghum leaves in distilled water in a ratio of 1:5 for 36 h. It was then filtered to collect the extract. After seed bed preparation, seedlings of IR-6 rice were transplanted into the field using a randomized complete block design with four replications. The data showed that hand weeding treatment recorded the maximum fresh and dry weed biomass. Application of half dose of weedicide ryzelan + half dose of sorghum water extract (sorgaab) produced the maximum number of tillers, panicles and normal kernels. The use of sorghum water extract, alone and in combination with commercial herbicide, produced lower fresh and dry weed biomass than the weedy check and hand weeding treatments. Similarly, the maximum number of spikelets, 1000-grain weight and paddy yield were also obtained in sorghum water extract treatment. Based on the results, it is concluded that the crop extract can be safely used as a bio-herbicide for controlling weeds and obtaining higher yield of rice.