Soil conservation and weed management through reduced tillage and herbicide application in various production systems
2009
Magsino, G.L. | Medina, S.M.
This study being conducted in five Philippine provinces is a proponent of the Gramoxone technology (GSL) which stresses that through effective weed management and reduced tillage, the risk of soil erosion in farms will be minimized, if not reduced to zero, coupled with providing cost-saving benefits and increased yield to farmers. This technology involves pre-plant application and inter-row spraying of Gramoxone 20SL to control weeds. This is being compared to the farmer's practice (FP) of cultivation and clean culture. It aims to prove that Gramoxone technology is safe to users, cost-effective and practical to use in light of sustainable agriculture. It is also expected to explore different means of weed management as a way to combat soil erosion in farms and crop plantations in the Philippines. Three-year results of the study in four of the sites show that soil erosion was reduced in GSL over FP by 76.17, 61.33, 32.6 and 69.4% in Sites 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. Soil erosion in GSL treatments in these sites are below the allowable limit set by FAO which is 10 tons/hectare/year. Applying GSL reduced cost over FP by 38.6% in Site 1 (corn), 20.0% (upland rice) and 28.0% (corn); in Site 2, 65.3% (cabbage) and 67.3% (potato); in Site 3, 33.6% (corn); in Site 4 and Site 5, 44.5% (lowland rice). Yields in GSL treatments also showed significant increases over FP in most of the cropping seasons in the various sites. For weed management, applying Gramoxone as pre-plant and as inter-row is effective in suppressing the growth of all kinds of weeds and when applied at least one week before planting, the herbicide has no side effects on the crop. In Site 1, however, there was a shift to Imperata cylindrica in the corn field, hence, other methods of weed control should be included once the condition continues.
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