Herbicide Management for Sustainable Sugar Cane (Saccharum officinarum l.) Production in Sudan

Field investigations were carried out during 2018/19 at Sugarcane Research Center Farm El Guneid, Sudan, in two sites, to evaluate the effect of the combination of chemical herbicides, Ametryne (3.8 L/ha) + Atrazine (3.8 L/ha), Atrazine (3.0 L/ha) + Pendimethalin (2.9 L/ha) and Metribuzin (5.21 L/ha) + Pendimethalin (3.57 L/ha), on common weed control, sugar cane growth, yield and quality. Experimental design was a randomized complete block (RCBD) with three replications. Results revealed that the combination of Metribuzin (5.21 L/ha) + Pendimethalin (3.57 L/ha) recorded the best results in weed control efficiency percent (WCE%) for both grass and broadleaved weeds in sugarcane crop compared to the other treatmentsand the control in the two sites. On the other hand, significant difference of means between treatments was observed in growth parameters and yield of sugar cane at 3, 6 and 9-month ages. Among all treatments the combination of Metribuzin (5.21 L/ha)+Pendimethalin (3.57 L/ha) showed the best results, irrespective to parameters compared to the other treatments and the control in the two sites. The mixture of Metribuzin+pendimethalin sustained the highest WCE% for both, grass and broadleaved weeds in addition to increased cane yield and yield component compared to other treatments and the corresponding control. Based on this study, it can be concluded that the herbicide combination provided effective weed control and promoted sugarcane quality and yield. Therefore, the use of herbicides not only increases the net income of farmers, but also demise weeds seed bank.