Abstract
Grain sorghum demand for industrial and domestic uses has triggered increased production of sorghum. Field experiment was conducted at Egerton University Njoro, Kenya to determine the most effective herbicide(s) for weed management in sorghum. The experiment was carried out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with nine treatments replicated three times. The treatments consisted of four pre-emergence herbicides namely Lumax® (Mesotrine, Metolachlor, Terbuthylazine), Primagram® (Atrazine, S-metolachlor), Dual gold® (S-Metolachlor) and Sencor® (Metribuzin). In addition, three post-emergence herbicides namely 2,4-D (2,4-D amine salt), Maguguma® (Atrazine, S-metolachlor) and Auxio® (Bromoxnil, Tembotrine) were included. Positive and negative controls comprised of hand weeding and no weeding, respectively. Pre-emergence treatments were applied immediately after sowing while post-emergence treatments were applied 30 days after sowing. Weed density and biomass were determined at 30 and 60 days after sowing. Means were separated according to least significant difference (LSD) whenever the herbicide effects were significant (P≤ 0.05). Analysis of variance revealed significant (P≤ 0.05) differences in the effect of the treatments evaluated. When used as pre-emergence herbicide, Sencor (Metribuzin) was more effective in reducing weed density by 96 and 79% relative to un-weeded and hand weeding treatments, respectively. The post-emergence 2,4-D herbicide reduced weeds by 90, 43 and 26%. Sencor and 2, 4-D were more effective in managing weeds in sorghum and currently, could be the best option for farmers in Kenya and elsewhere. Key words: Sorghum, herbicides, Sencor, weeds
Highlights
Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench] production inKenya is gradually expanding due to increasing demand from brewing and feed industries
An application of pre-emergence herbicide is important for farmers to realize increased yields because it takes care of weeds interference with crops at their most vulnerable stages
Field trials were conducted during the short rains in AugustDecember 2014 and long rains beginning in March-July 2015 to evaluate the efficacy of selected pre- and post-emergence herbicides on weed control and the responses of EUSS 25 line of sorghum
Summary
Kenya is gradually expanding due to increasing demand from brewing and feed industries. Herbicides are handy when dealing with increased scale of operation and are effective in managing weeds at critical crop stages, avoiding significant crop loss (Tuinstra et al, 2009; Rajcan and Swanton, 2001; Khaliq et al, 2011). It has been suggested that good crop establishment can be achieved by keeping a crop weed-free for about 3-4 weeks after sowing (Chauhan et al, 2012) This is dependent on the weed seed bank, which influences weed emergence pattern and stage of crop growth. An application of pre-emergence herbicide is important for farmers to realize increased yields because it takes care of weeds interference with crops at their most vulnerable stages. Available pre-emergence and post-emergence herbicides selected based on their use in closely related cereals but with different active compounds were evaluated for their efficacy in sorghum production
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