Realising aerobic rice potential in India - An integrated weed management perspective

Aerobic rice is a new way of cultivating rice that requires less water than lowland rice. Direct sown aerobic rice suffers more due to weed menace as the weeds and rice compete for growth factors together. Achieving higher rice grain yields under aerobic conditions requires better weed management practices. Hence, the aerobic rice should be focused primarily on efficient weed management to make aerobic rice cultivation more efficient in terms of returns on farmer investments and use of water resources. Most upland and aerobic rice growers in Asia manually weed their crops two or three times per season. Both pre- and post-emergence herbicides can be used in aerobic rice fields; however they are effective only if properly used.