Asian Journal of Agriculture and Allied Sciences

Weed is the major limiting factor of coffee (Coffea arabica L.) production in Ethiopia. Weeds in coffee cause a 65% yield reduction in the country. Nowadays, the expense of weed management has been a principal issue in Ethiopia's economic analysis of coffee production. Herbicide is the best weed management option in coffee production. Thus, the newly introduced herbicide verification trial was conducted on-site at the Hawassa Agricultural Research Center and Awada Coffee Research sub-center site in 2024, during the cropping season, to evaluate the efficacy of the newly introduced herbicide. The experiment consists of five (5) treatments of Wanda 48%SL (Glyphosate 48% g/l SL) test herbicide and XTrim 48%Sl, True killer, and Gly care 480%g/l SL, as a standard check and weedy control as a negative control. The herbicides effectively reduced weed density and improved weed control efficiency compared to weedy control. The tested herbicide Wanda 48%SL (Glyphosate 48 g/l SL) was fully controlled in the experimental plot, similar to a standard herbicide with one-time application for one season. This result suggested that one-time application at vigorous weed growth is mandatory to achieve full control throughout the season equivalent to standard control herbicides. Therefore, Wanda 48%SL (Glyphosate 48g/l SL) at 3 L/ha within 250L/ha water with one-time application per season is recommended to control weeds in coffee as an alternative management option. According to this study, all the evaluated herbicides can control coffee weeds, without different control duration. All standard checks True killer, Glycare 480% g/l SL, XTrim 48% SL, and the tested herbicide Wanda 48%SL (Glyphosate 48g/l SL) controlled weed species within 7 to 21 days.