CULTIVAR AND WEED CONTROL STRATEGY INFLUENCING THE PRODUCTIVITY OF ROSELLE (HIBISCUS SABDARIFFA L.) IN A SEMI-ARID ENVIRONMENT OF NIGERIA

Field trial was conducted during the 2019/2020 cropping seasons to determine the effect of cultivar and weed control strategies on the productivity of roselle in a semi-arid environment. The trials comprised of two cultivars (deep red and white) and seven weed control strategies (pendimethalin at 2.0, butachlor 2.0, butachlor 1.5 + pendimethalin 1.5 kg a.i. ha-1, butachlor 1.5 kg a.i. ha-1 + SHW at 6 WAS, pendimethalin 1.5 kg a.i. ha-1 + SHW at 6 WAS, hoe weeded twice at 3 and 6 WAS, and weedy check) which were factorially combined and replicated thrice in a Randomized complete block design. The application of pendimethalin at 2.0 kg a.i. ha-1, as well as the deep red roselle cultivar, resulted in significant (P