Row spacing and weed control timing affect yield of aerobic rice

Field experiments were conducted during the wet season of 2009 and dry season of 2010 to determine the effects of row spacing and timing of weed control on weed growth and yield of aerobic rice. Ten weed management treatments were used to identify critical periods of weed competition with aerobic rice grown in three different row spacings (15-cm, 30-cm, and as paired rows 10–20–10-cm). Dominant weed species during both growing seasons were Rottboellia cochinchinensis, Digitaria ciliaris, Echinochloa colona, and Eleusine indica. Rice grown in 30-cm rows had greater weed biomass and less grain yield than in 15-cm and 10–20–10-cm rows; weed growth and grain yields were similar between 15-cm and 10–20–10-cm rows. Rice yields in the wet season ranged from 170kgha⁻¹ where weeds were not controlled throughout the crop duration to 2940kgha⁻¹ in weed-free treatment, indicating a 94% yield loss with uncontrolled weed growth. Similarly in the dry season, plots with no weed control (140kgha⁻¹) compared to weed-free plots (3640kgha⁻¹) indicate a 96% yield loss with no weed control. Gompertz and logistic equations were fitted to yield data resulting from increasing durations of weed control and weed interference, respectively. Critical periods for weed control in the wet season, to obtain 95% of a weed-free yield, were estimated as between 18 and 52 days after sowing (DAS) for crops in rows at 15-cm, 20–51DAS at 10–20–10-cm, and 15–58DAS at 30-cm. These intervals in the dry season were 17–56DAS for crops in rows at 15-cm and 17–60DAS at 10–20–10-cm and 15–64DAS at 30-cm. Durations of the critical periods in the wet season were 31 days at 10–20–10-cm, 34 days at 15-cm and 43 days at 30-cm, while in the dry season, these were 43 days at 10–20–10-cm, 39 days at 15-cm and 49 days at 30-cm. In both seasons, crops in the wider spacing (30-cm) were vulnerable to weed competition for the longest period. The information gained from this study suggests that the aerobic rice yields better in 15-cm rows and 10–20–10-cm arrangements than in 30-cm rows and there is very little benefit of weed control beyond 8 weeks after sowing.