Weed Control Schedules in Plantation Crops

General Principles

• Plantation crops have wide spacing and long juvenile phases, leaving large areas exposed to weed growth.
• Weed flora varies with rainfall, shade, and soil type (annual grasses, broadleaves, sedges, perennials).
• Integrated approach: manual, mechanical, mulching, cover cropping, and selective herbicides.
• Control measures should be timed with rainy and dry seasons for best results.

Crop-wise Weed Control Schedules

• Tea
• Critical Period: First 3–4 years (before canopy closes).
• Schedule:
  • Early Season (Pre-monsoon): Slash or mow weeds; apply pre-emergence herbicides like Simazine, Atrazine.
  • Mid-season (Monsoon): Manual weeding around bushes; use contact herbicides (Paraquat, Glyphosate – directed spray between rows).
  • Late Season (Post-monsoon): Hand weeding to remove persistent weeds; spot treatment for perennials.
  • Other practices: Mulching with pruned tea branches, cover crops (Desmodium, Stylosanthes) suppress weeds.

Coffee

• Critical Period: Nursery & first 3 years in field.
• Schedule:
  • Pre-monsoon: Manual weeding + mulching.
  • Rainy season: Directed spray of Glyphosate or Paraquat in inter-row areas (avoid contact with crop).
  • Post-monsoon: 1–2 rounds of manual cleaning.
  • Additional: Shade regulation reduces weed growth; cover crops (Centro, Calapogonium) help suppress weeds.

Rubber

• Critical Period: Immature phase (up to 6 years).
• Schedule:
  • Pre-monsoon (Apr–May): Slash weeds; apply pre-emergence herbicide (Diuron, Oxyfluorfen).
  • Monsoon (Jun–Sep): 1–2 rounds of manual weeding or contact herbicides.
  • Post-monsoon (Oct–Nov): Cleaning around young plants to prevent smothering.
  • Other practices: Intercropping (pineapple, ginger, legumes) reduces weed load and provides income.

Coconut

• Critical Period: First 5 years.
• Schedule:
  • Pre-monsoon: Clean weeding in basins around palms + mulching with coconut husk, coir pith.
  • Monsoon: Cover crops (Mucuna, Stylosanthes) established to suppress weeds.
  • Post-monsoon: Hand weeding / Glyphosate for perennial weeds in interspaces.
  • Maintenance phase: Slashing of tall grasses twice a year.

Arecanut

• Critical Period: Early years (up to 7 years).
• Schedule:
  • Pre-monsoon: Circle weeding around palms.
  • Monsoon: Establish green manure/cover crops (Pueraria, Stylosanthes).
  • Post-monsoon: Application of Glyphosate for persistent weeds.
  • Annual practice: 2–3 manual weedings + mulching with dried leaves.

Oil Palm

• Critical Period: 3–5 years after planting.
• Schedule:
  • 0–3 Years: Manual/chemical weeding in basins (3–4 times a year).
  • Later years: Slashing/mowing in inter-row areas 2–3 times a year.
  • Chemical control: Glyphosate, Glufosinate (directed spray).
  • Additional: Leguminous cover crops (Pueraria phaseoloides, Centrosema) are standard practice.

Common Weed Control Measures in Plantations

• Manual/Mechanical: Hand weeding, slashing, mowing, hoeing around tree basins.
• Cultural: Cover cropping, mulching, shade regulation, intercropping with annuals.
• Chemical:
  • Pre-emergence: Atrazine, Simazine, Diuron, Oxyfluorfen.
  • Post-emergence: Glyphosate, Paraquat, Glufosinate (directed spray).
• Biological: Grazing by cattle/goats in coconut and rubber plantations.

Summary Table: Weed Control in Plantation Crops