Effect of Chlorsulfuron 75% WDG Herbicides on striga Control and Sorghum Yield in T/Abergelle District, Central Zone of Tigray, Ethiopia

Chlorsulfuron (75% WDG) is a new systemic herbicide for striga control in small seed grains. Striga is one of the obligate parasitic weeds and reduces sorghum yield by more than 75% by drawing water and nutritional needs from the host root. Due to this intervention, this experiment was executed in Striga-infected areas in three kebeles under rain-fed conditions to evaluate the efficacy of herbicides for controlling Striga infestation on sorghum yield. Results of the experiment indicated that spraying of the chlorsulfuron product in Turkey and China at a rate of 40 g/ha had highly significant effects on striga control and gave a better yield than untreated plots (control). It shows that it’s an excellent control system that reduces more than 98% of the striga count at harvest and gives above 50% yield advantage to the product of Turkey over control. This reduction in growth may be closely associated with inhibition of plant cell division. Direct application of those new chemical products has not shown any visible phytotoxicity symptoms on the soil or sorghum growth during the implementation period. Based on the results, we can conclude that spraying of the chlorsulfuron product in Turkey and China dramatically reduced striga infestation and economically feasible to increased sorghum yield. Generally, application of Chlorsulfuron (75% WDG) on the local variety was obtained high yield and profit per investing. Therefore, using this study as a tool, further research should be conducted on the dose and residue effects on soil, grain quality, and other herbs.