Effect of purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus) management practices on growth and yield of maize

Abstract

The field experiment was conducted at Navsari Agricultural University in 2021 to investigate the impact of various weed control treatments on the management of Cyperus rotundus (Purple Nutsedge) in sweet corn cultivation. A Randomized Block Design (RBD) was employed, comprising nine treatments, including two hand weeding at 20 and 40 days after sowing (DAS), stale seedbed (SSB) methods with glyphosate and multiple herbicides (Halosulfuron Methyl, 2,4-D amine salt and others). Key parameters measured included plant population, growth attributes (such as plant height and total dry matter), cob characteristics (cob length and weight) and overall yield (grain and straw). The results demonstrated that the application of weed control treatments significantly influenced growth and yield parameters compared to the untreated weedy check. The significantly higher grain and straw yield was recorded with two hand weeding at 20 and 40 DAS (W8) which remained statistically at par with treatment SSB with glyphosate followed by either glyphosate + HW (W2) or Halosulfuron Methyl (W4) or 2,4-D amine slat (W5) or rice straw mulch (W7) or smother crop (W6) or HW at 25 DAS (W3).