Scilight Press

The aim of the study was to evaluate the performance of pre- and post-emergence herbicides to control weeds and their effect on growth and yield of rice established by transplanting in kharif season of 2020 at research farm of Lovely Professional University. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with nine treatments. The study revealed that hand weeding followed by bensulfuron methyl reduced weed dry weight by 90-97% compared to non-treated weedy plots. On the other hand, bispyribac sodium reduced the density of grassy weeds, whereas bensulfuron methyl reduced the density of sedges and broad-leaf weeds. Maximum number of panicles, filled grains, panicle length and 1000-grain weight were observed under hand weeding followed by Bensulfuron methyl. Bensulfuron methyl @ 55 g a.i./ha achieved yield (5764 kg/ha) close to those of the weed-free treatments (5914 kg/ha). Among the herbicide treatments, application of bispyribac sodium @ 35 g a.i./ha produced low grain yield similar to the nontreated crop (3853 kg/ha). The results suggested that bensulfuron methyl was the most effective preemergence herbicide in puddled transplanting system.