| Summary: | Fertilizers application is required in order to improve rice production in low fertile soils of West Africa. This
practice can also increase weed pressure in rice field, thereby reducing yield significantly. Chemotropism of weed was
hypothesized to identify nutrient effects on weed abundance and biomass production as well as rice yield for suitable
recommendation of basal fertilizer in terre de barre soil agro-ecology. Two years (2005 and 2006) fertilizer omission trial
including nitrogen (N), potassium (K), phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and zinc (Zn) was conducted in a
randomized completed block design, with 4 replications at the Africa Rice Center experiment station, in Benin. The New
Rice for Africa named NERICA 4 was sown. Weed dominance-abundance indices and biomass, as well as, rice grain yield
were assessed. Results show that Digitaria horizontalis Wild and Mariscus cylindristachyus Steudel were the most dominant
weed species in rainfed rice fields on terre de barre soils and the omission of Zn has ability to discriminate among weeds.
Base on weed biomass (60.11 – 129.26 g m-2) reduction by 36 – 53% in treatments with Ca, Mg and P omission, the
application of N, K and Zn was recommendable for basal fertilizer as integrated weed management practice for boosting rice
production on terre de barre soils in West Africa.
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