Evaluation of Selected Pre-Emergence Herbicides for Weed Control in Rapid Multiplication of Cassava Stem Cutting

Abstract

Four pre-emergence herbicides were evaluated for weed control in rapid multiplication of cassava stem cutting in a green house experiment at the Teaching and Research Farm of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria. The herbicides were Diuron (50%),   Pendimethalin, (500 EC), Atrazine (50 FW) and Primextra Gold (containing 290 g/l S-metolachlor and 370 g/l atrazine). Four rates of the herbicides namely 10, 25, 50 and 100% of the recommended rates were tested in a split plot experiment. The herbicides were the major treatment and the rates of application were the minor treatments in four replicates. A hand weed control treatment was also included. The results showed that both the rates and herbicides used had significant (p< 0.05) effects on the performance of cassava (variety TMS 30572) plantlets except on plantlets emergence, which was not affected at all by the treatments. While all the plantlets treated with 25% and above of the recommended dosage rate of diuron were all killed, those treated with 10% were comparable to the control in performance. Similarly, plantlets treated with more than 10% of atrazine and premextra Gold had retarded and stunted growth. Pendimentalin had no significant effect on the plantlets across the rates tested. The best weed control was achieved with diuron applied at 25% and above, while the least weed control occurred on the control plot and these treated with 10% of atrazine and primextra Gold.  However, there were no significant variations in the weed control efficiencies of Diuron at 10%, pendmethalin across the rates, atrazine and primentra Gold of 25% dosage rate.

Keywords:  Pre-emergence herbicides, Atrazine, Primextra Gold, Diuron, Pendimethalin, cassava