Integrated weed management in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor(L.) moench] – A review

Abstract

Sorghum is affected by weeds and the loss due to weeds account for 33 per cent of the potential production and 30 to 45 per cent of the plant nutrients from the soil. Traditional hand weeding is the most efficient and widely adopted practice of weed management but it is labour intensive, time consuming and not economical due to high wage rates. Mechanical equipment can be time saving during peak operation, resulting in higher output per worker and reduction in the cost of weeding. Chemical weed control is a better supplement to conventional method however the weed emergence pattern, application timing and stage of crop are important in chemical control. Continuous use of herbicides over a prolonged time leads to development of resistance in weeds making them difficult to control. Integrated weed management (IWM), the process of combining several single management strategies together to suppress weeds has been developed. Hence, various components of integrated weed management are to be blended in a systematic way to achieve the acceptable level of weed control. So there is a need to review different weed management techniques in sorghum, which should be efficient, cost effective and environmentally safe. Keeping these facts in view, a comprehensive review on different integrated weed management practices has been attempted.