Chapters authored
Weed Management in Sprinkler-Irrigated Rice: Experiences from Southern Brazil
Sprinkler rice saves water compared to paddy rice. However, in paddy fields, the water table is efficient for weed suppression. In sprinkler rice, there is no water table on soil; thus, weed management used in paddy rice may not be suitable for sprinkler rice, since herbicides and water table are expected to interact. Weed pressure in sprinkler rice is higher than in paddy rice; annual grasses are the main weeds in both paddy and sprinkler rice. Barnyardgrass, goosegrass, crabgrass and Alexandergrass show vigorous growth in sprinkler rice. A 3-year study shows that weeds in sprinkler rice reduce grain yield between 11 and 95%. Herbicides used in conventional and Clearfield® rice (clomazone, imazethapyr + imazapic, imazapyr + imazapic, pendimethalin and penoxsulam) were tested, contrasting paddy and sprinkler rice. Additionally, the technique locally called “needle-point” (glyphosate applied over the first-day emerging rice) was combined with pre- and postemergence herbicides. When using only pre- or postemergence, weeds reduced rice grain yield; a combination of products was the best option for sprinkler-irrigated rice. The Clearfield technology was efficient in controlling most weeds. However, using it combined to the needle-point promoted the best results. The main approaches for weed management in sprinkler-irrigated rice were summarized.
Part of the book: Advances in International Rice Research
Phytosociological Surveys in Weed Science: Old Concept, New Approach
Phytosociological surveys have been applied to studies on agroecosystems, especially in relation to weed populations into arable fields. These surveys can indicate trends of variation of the importance of plant populations within a crop, and whether the variations are associated to agricultural practices adopted, which can be further used to support the development of weed management programs. However, to understand the applicability of phytosociological studies for weeds, it is necessary to understand the ecological basis and determine the most appropriate methods to be used when surveying arable fields. Therefore, the aim of the present chapter is to introduce a new approach of phytosociological survey to be used as a tool for the weed science. Throughout the chapter, this new approach is presented in details covering aspects related to methods for sampling and describing weed communities. The following sequence of steps is proposed as the most suitable for a weed phytosociological and association survey: (1) overall infestation; (2) phytosociological tables/graphs; (3) intra-characterization by diversity; (4) inter-characterization and grouping by multivariate analysis; and (5) weeds association through contingency tables.
Part of the book: Plant Ecology