Evaluation of Flair 50 EC Herbicide for Weed Control in Rice Paddy

Fields

BY MWANGI.J; WANJOGU R.K,

OWILLA B.P.O

Introduction• Around 80% of Kenya’s national rice production is from

the national irrigation schemes controlled by NIB.• Weed control is an important practice in crop

production as weeds compete with crops for nutrients and soil moisture thereby affecting final yields realized.

• It costs approximately Kshs 3,000/= for one hand weeding per acre.

• Under the circumstances it is prudent to consider alternative ways for weed control in paddy fields

• In Kenya use of herbicides for weed control in paddy fields is a relatively new phenomenon and very few products have so far been screened for efficacy

OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the efficacy of FLAIR 50 EC herbicide in weed

control in rice fields

Examples of common rice weeds

Scirpus juncoides (Bulrush) Leptochloa chinensis

Monochoria vaginalisLudwigia adscendens

MethodologyRice Varieties: •V1 = Basmati 370, •V2 = BW 196, •V3 = IR2793, •V4 = ITA 310Treatments•The trial had 5 treatments as follows:•Untreated control.•Recommended rates for Satunil herbicide•1L/Ha Flair EC•1.5L/Ha Flair EC•2L/Ha Flair ECThe treatments were sprayed 3-5 days after transplanting

Methodology cont. • Data Collection• Ten (10) hills were randomly selected and the following data taken; • Weed count• Plant Height• Efficacy of weed control (weed count, identification of weeds controlled)Toxicity of herbicide on rice crop• Crop injury (Phytotoxicity) recorded on a scale of 0 – 5 where• 0= No Phytotoxicity• 1 = very slight Phytotoxicity (<5%)• 2 = Slight Phytotoxicity (5 – 10%)• 3 = Significant Phytotoxicity (10 – 20%)• 4 = Serious Phytotoxicity (>20%• 5 = Total burn-down of crop Data was collected at 5th day after application and at interval of 5 days after application

for six times• Yield from 5M2, at 14% MCYield Components• Number of tillers/hill• Number of productive tillers/hill• Number of grains/panicle• Number of empty grains/panicle • 1000 grain weight (at 14% MC)• Milling quality

Results for variety IR2793Growth data Season 1

Season 2

Effect on weed countSeason 1

Season 2

Effect on yieldSeason 1 Season 2

Conclusion• From the results; • Plots that were not sprayed with any chemical had

significantly lower number of tillers.• The number of most of the weeds were significantly

and consistently low in satunil and flair EC treated plots.

• However in most of the cases, there were no significant differences on weed counts between the different concentration of flair EC as well as satunil.

• Also plots treated with 1l/ha and 1.5l/ha of flair EC had significantly higher numbers of filled grains compared to Satunil and the control.

• This clearly indicates that Flair EC is a potential effective herbicide in rice farming.