Weed Management

Weed Management :: Horticulture Crops :: Plantation

Tea

Although herbicides are now used over 60% of the area under tea, manual methods like cheeling, sickling and mulching are extensively used wherever labour is available than by chemical method. Cheeling removes the above ground weed growth and prepares the ground for pre-emergence herbicide application.

Sickling is done to remove the tall growth of perennial weeds and cut it back to the ground level for a follow up application of foliage applied herbicides on the regrowth.

Pre-emergance application of Oxyfluorfen @ 0.40 kg/ha. Foliage application of Paraquat (8ml/l) + 2,4 – D (6g/l) or Glyphosate (15ml/l) depending on the weed spectrum and this would keep tea weed-free for the rest PE application of Oxyfluorfen at 0.40 kg/ha of the year.

Nursery
Weed control in clonal nursery is done by (2 to 3 weeks before planting cuttings) application of Simazine at 2 kg/ha. After 6 months Simazine is applied once again at the same dose.

In the case of seed nurseries hand removal is done for 6 months after planting and then Simazine applied at 2 kg/ha.

Young tea (Until 3 years)
Application of Simazine 1.5 to 2 kg/ha or Paraquat 0.3 – 0.4 kg/ha at pre-emergence and 2,4 – D 0.5 to 1 kg/ha at post emergence.

Matured tea (Above 3 years)
Simazine 1.5 to 2 kg/ ha or Diuron 2 kg/ha as pre-emergence herbicides. Paraquat or 2,4 – D or Paraquat + MSMA or Glyphosate are applied as post emergence.