Integrated Weed Management for Large Scale Direct Seeding Hybrid Rice Cultivation at Irrigated Land in Indonesia

Abstract

Rice is cultivated in Indonesia in a very wide range of ecosystems from irrigated to rainfed, flood prone (shallow, mid-deep, and deep water), swampy land, to uplands, but irrigated land stills the largest planted rice area. Transplanting is the major method of rice cultivation in Indonesia. However, transplanting is becoming increasingly difficult due to shortage and high cost of labor, scarcity of water, and reduced on-farm profit. Thus, direct-seeding is gaining popularity and highly prospective among farmers of Indonesia as in other Asian countries. Direct-seeding constitutes both wet-seeding and dry-seeding, and it does away with the need for, nursery preparation, uprooting of seedlings and transplanting. In the rice agro-ecosystems ideal environment conditions are provided for optimal rice productivity are being exploited by the associated weeds. Irrespective of the method of rice establishment, weeds are a major impediment to rice production through their ability to compete for resources and their impact on product quality.