Herbicidal Treatment Compositions and Methods for Improved Control of Undesired Vegetation in Rice Crops

Treatment regimens for the herbicidal treatment of crops of rice varieties, preferably rice varieties modified to be tolerant to imparted with resistance to imidazolinone type herbicides in order to provide improved control and/or improved eradication of one or more of:

• of Sesbania hemp (Sesbania exaltata), Indian Joint vetch (Aeschynomene indica), and Alligator weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides) within the planted rice crop, comprising the application of a sulfonylurea based herbicidal composition to provide improved herbicidal efficacy.

Herbicidal compositions according to claim 8, wherein the sulfonylurea based herbicidal composition is a halosulfuron methyl represented by the structure:

• wherein R7 is hydrogen or is a C1-C6 straight or branched alkyl group, preferably is hydrogen, methyl or ethyl, or acid form thereof

An improved agricultural processes for the improved cultivation of crops of rice varieties, preferably rice varieties modified to be tolerant to imparted with resistance to imidazolinone type herbicides wherein the crops are treated to control undesired vegetative growth using both a sulfonylurea based herbicidal composition with an imidazoline based herbicidal composition to provide synergistically improved herbicidal efficacy, especially wherein the undesired vegetative growth are one or more of:

• of Sesbania hemp (Sesbania exaltata), Indian Joint vetch (Aeschynomene indica), and Alligator weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides).