Effect of altered crop geometry and integrated weed management methods on productivity and profitability of irrigated maize and its residue effect on succeeding Bengal gram

Abstract

To evaluate the effect of different crop geometry without altering plant population and integrated weed management methods on productivity and profitability of maize under irrigated condition and also to study the residual effect of weed management practices on succeeding Bengal gram, the field experiment was conducted in Eastern block, Department of Agronomy, TNAU, Coimbatore during Kharif and Rabi season of 2018-19. The experiment result showed that normal row planting 60 cm x 25 cm have higher growth and yield attributes which is statistically on par with normal row planting 75 cm x 20 cm. Among weed control treatments, pre-emergence (PE) application of atrazine at 1 kg ai/ha + hand weeding at 35 DAS resulted higher grain yield (7.85 t/ha) and it is statistically on par with PE atrazine application at 1 kg ai/ha + twin wheel hoe weeder weeding at 35 DAS (7.61 t/ha). From this study, it may concluded that adoption of normal row planting at 75 cm x 20 cm with weed control practice of atrazine application as pre-emergence followed by twin wheel hoe weeder weeding at 35 DAS could result higher grain yield and profitability of maize and inferred that residual effect of herbicides used for preceding maize does not exist any significant effect on growth and yield of succeeding Bengal gram.