Effects of Tillage and Weeding Frequency on Rice Yield and Yield Components

The upland field study was conducted during the 2014 major crop growing season under rainfed condition on a sandy loam soil (Ferric Acrisol) to compare the effect of different tillage practices and weeding frequency on yield parameters and yield of NERICA 4 rice variety at the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Nyankpala, Northern Region of Ghana. The experiment was arranged in a split plot design with three replications. The tillage treatments consisted of disc ploughing only, disc ploughing followed by disc harrowing, and no tillage as main plots and four weeding frequencies (weeding thrice, twice, once and no weeding) as sub-plots. The results indicated significant effects of tillage practices on the yield components and yield of NERICA 4. Disc ploughing followed by disc harrowing produced the highest number of panicles, panicle weight, number of spikelet's per panicle, dry matter yield, number of grains per panicle, 1000-grain weight, grain yield and the longest panicles. The no tillage treatment gave the lowest yield performance. Similarly, weeding frequency significantly affected the yield components and yield of NERICA 4.