Integrated weed management in Nepal

As part of the continuing effort of the Irrigated Rice Research Consortium’s (IRRC) program to build capacity, it stretches its helping hand to Nepal, where the rice-wheat cropping system is common.

Weeds are among the major constraints in the rice-wheat system. To address this problem, 15 of Nepal’s researchers and technical officers were equipped with knowledge and understanding about weeds and their ecology and control.

The training on integrated weed management was conducted on 25-27 April. It was spearheaded by Dr. Jagat Ranjit of Nepal’s National Agricultural Research Council in collaboration with David Johnson and Joel Janiya of the IRRC Labor Productivity Work Group, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

Topics covered in the training were introduction to weed management, weed identification and classification, weed population dynamics and survival, crop-weed interaction, tillage-weed interaction, weed control methods, and herbicide application.

The team of trainers included Dr. Dharma Raj Dangol, who delivered a lecture on weed identification and herbarium preparation; Dr. Madhav Joshi, who gave a talk on tillage-weed interaction; and Dr. Ranjit, who gave a lecture on the positive value of weeds, weeds associated with different crops, and herbicide use in Nepal. Dr. Johnson and Mr. Janiya presented a range of topics that included hands-on exercises and group discussion.

Dr. David Johnson, IRRC Labor Productivity Work Group leader, discusses weed management in rice.

Joel Janiya (j.janiya@cgiar.org) and David Johnson (d.johnson@cgiar.org)

Country Outreach Programs archive