Efficacy of Post-Emergence Herbicides against Weeds of Sugarcane in South West Burkina Faso

Abstract

Sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum L.) is one of the world's leading industrial crops. In Burkina Faso, it faces a number of agronomic constraints, notably weed infestation. In the short term, chemical control remains an alternative for reducing weeds damage on crops and mitigating low sugarcane yields. With a view to improving sugarcane productivity, the aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Triclopyr 480 g/L EC, a post-emergence herbicide in sugarcane cultivation on Bérégadougou perimeter in South-west Burkina Faso. Two trials were carried out in a completely randomized block design, with six (06) treatments and three (03) replicates. Three doses of Triclopyr 480 g/L EC were compared with a reference control and two untreated controls. The floristic inventory before and after herbicide treatment revealed a total of 40 species in 18 families, dominated by the dicotyledonous class (72.5%). Triclopyr 480 g/L EC at the intermediate dose of 2 l/ha reduced weed infestation by 53.2% compared with the non-weeded control and leading to efficacy of 85.6%. Triclopyr 480 g/L EC thus allowed an average yield gain of 14.9 t/ha compared to the non-weeded control.