In‐the‐row weed management in sorghum

Field experiments on sorghum, Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench., hybrid CSH‐6, demonstrated the importance of in‐the‐row weed management in this crop when grown under rainfed conditions in south‐central India. In‐the‐row weeds reduced sorghum grain yields by up to 30% when only inter‐row weeding was carried out. A single hand weeding at any time between 2 and 5 weeks after crop sowing was equal to repeated hand weeding in maintaining high grain yields. Atrazine applied pre‐emergence to the crop or isoproturon applied 3 weeks after crop sowing resulted in sorghum grain yields equal to those obtained from hand weeding. Over the row band applications of these herbicides were equal to broadcast applications, provided two interrow cultivations were carried out; and herbicide costs were reduced by two‐thirds.