Weed dynamics in maize (Zea mays L.) as influenced by in situ soil moisture conservation on practices
B. Kalaivani, *M. Thiruppathi, R. Raman and N. Senthilkumar
Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar - 608002 India *Corresponding author : E-mail: agropathy@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Field experiment was conducted at a farmer’s field in the Solatharam village, Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu, India which is situated between 11° 39 ' N latitude, 79° 50' E longitude with an altitude of +5.79 m above mean sea level MSL in the southern part of India during JuneSeptember, 2022 to evaluate the effectiveness of different insitu soil moisture conservation with nitrogen management on the weed dynamics and weed control efficiency in irrigated maize Zea mays. The field experiment was laid out in split plot design with three replications and the soil of the experimental field was sandy loam soil in texture. In the main plot, control no mulch plot M1, hydrogel mulch M2 and water hyacinth mulch M3 were imposed. Whereas, in the sub plot, different levels and sources of nitrogen were applied at two levels viz., 100 and 125 % RDN in the combination of Prilled urea and Nano urea at varied proportion 1:0, 1:1, 2:1, 1:2 and 0:1. The nano urea were foliar sprayed at 20 and 40 DAS. The results indicated that mulching with water hyacinth @ 12 t ha-1 M3 significantly decreased the individual weed population with higher weed control efficiency when compared to unmulched control plot M1. Different levels and sources of N management as well as their interaction effects didn’t exhibited any significant effect on weeds population and weed control efficiency in maize.