Vol. 12 No. 1
Integrated weed management in rabi popcorn (Zea mays var. everta)
Author(s): B. BARAD, R. K. MATHUKIA, B. S. GOHIL AND S. K. CHHODAVADIA
Abstract:
The field experiment conducted during rabi 2013-14 at Junagadh (Gujarat, India) to assess the integrated weed management in popcorn. The weed flora in the experimental site constituted by monocot weeds viz., Brachiaria spp., Asphodelus tenuifolius, Indigofera glandulosa, Echinochloa colona and Dactyloctenium aegyptium, dicot weeds viz., Digera arvensis, Amaranthus viridis, Physalis minima, Launaea nudicaulis, Euphorbia hirta, Chenopodium album, Portulaca oleracea and Phyllanthus niruri and sedge weed Cyperus rotundus. The results indicated that treatments viz., hand weeding (HW) and intercultivation (IC) twice at 15 and 30 days after sowing (DAS), pre-emergence application (PRE) of atrazine 0.5 kg ha-1 + HW and IC at 30 DAS and pendimethalin 0.9 kg ha-1 as PRE + HW and IC at 30 DAS significantly enhanced growth and yield attributes viz., plant height and dry matter at harvest, cob length, number of cobs per plant, number of grains per cob and grain weight per cob leading to higher grain and fodder yields over unweeded check. These treatments also recorded the lower weed population at 30, 60 DAS and at harvest, dry weight of weed at harvest and weed index as well as higher weed control efficiency along with higher net returns and B:C ratio compared to unweeded check.
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