Economic Analysis of Weed Management Practices in Conservation Agriculture-Based Rice Cultivation

Abstract

The transition from conventional tillage to conservation agriculture (CA) in rice-based cropping systems presents significant economic opportunities alongside formidable weed management challenges. This paper presents a comprehensive economic evaluation of weed control practices within CA-based rice cultivation, synthesising empirical evidence from recent peer-reviewed studies conducted across the Indo-Gangetic Plains. Analysis of long-term field experiments reveals that integrated weed management (IWM) combining chemical and non-chemical approaches provides superior economic returns compared to herbicide-only or manual weeding strategies. Under CA systems, IWM reduced weed density by 84–97% and weed biomass by 92 98%, resulting in a system productivity of 8.51–8.58 t ha⁻¹ rice-equivalent yield. Economic analysis demonstrates that conservation tillage with residue retention and strategic herbicide application generates net returns of approximately INR 73,000–79,000 ha⁻¹ with benefit-cost ratios of 1.8–1.9, substantially outperforming conventional systems. The evidence indicates that economically optimal weed management in CA-based rice requires integrated approaches that balance short-term profitability with long-term sustainability, supported by appropriate herbicide rotation strategies to mitigate resistance development.