| dc.description.abstract | Striga hermonthica and S. asiatica arc parasitic weeds that reduce yield in cereal crops.
Information is scarce on the response of Striga to weed control methods in Swaziland.
Therefore, a held experiment was conducted in 2006/2007 cropping season, to assess Striga
control methods in maize. The experimental design was a randomized complete block, using
a 4 x 3-factorial arrangement, to assess four maize varieties and three weed control methods.
Results showed that Imidazolinone-resistant (IR) maize variety. KB 04 OA10). had a
significantly better Striga control than other maize varieties. The pre- and post-emergence
herbicide mixture of Bladex plus and Bullet was more effective in Striga control, and
effected sustainable weed control over the selective hand-weeding method. Grain yields were
significantly higher with SC 403 + Bladex plus (2236.9 kg ha-1) and using selective hand
weeding than SC 403 + Bladex plus + Bullet (3591.9 kg ha-1); the lowest yield (1279.8 kg ha
’) was from CML-181 combined with hand weeding. Nevertheless, the local maize variety,
SC 403, was the highest yielding (3034 kg ha-1), which was 47.4% higher than the best 1R-
maize variety. 1R maize varieties have a potential for reducing Striga growth and
development, and combined with the use of herbicides, maize yield in Striga-infested fields
in Swaziland could be improved. Fanners who can afford lR-maize and herbicide technology
are encouraged to use Bladex plus in combination with Bullet, for pre-emergence weed
control. | en_US |
