Abstract
Weed infestation has an adverse impact on the yield of vegetable corn. This study, therefore, aimed to investigate the effects of plant density and hand weeding on controlling weeds and yield of vegetable corn. The experiments were conducted in the field condition in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The planting densities were 79,365 plants ha-1 (D1); 92,593 plants ha-1 (D2); 111,111 plants ha-1 (D3); and 138,889 plants ha-1 (D4). The hand weeding treatments were no weeding (NW), hand weeding once at 3-4 leaf stage of vegetable corn (HW1), and hand weeding twice at 3-4 leaf and 8-9 leaf stages of vegetable corn (HW2). The results showed that the highest planting density combined with hand weeding was generally effective in controlling weeds. Furthermore, the increase in planting density combined with hand weeding significantly improved the physiological traits, which consequently increased the cob yield. The yield was optimum at D3 combined with hand weeding once. Thus, the results suggested that the optimum yield of vegetable corn could be obtained at a planting density of 111,111 plants ha-1 combined with hand weeding once at 3-4 leaf stage, an increase of the cob yield by 2.01 tons ha-1.
Highlights
Corn (Zea may L.), which is planted in 1.03 million ha producing around 4.87 million tons in 2018, is the second most important food crop in Vietnam after rice, (FAO, 2020)
The weeds were Eleusine india, Cynodon dactylon, Echinochloa colona, and Leptochloa chinensis under grasses, Cyperus rotundus under sedges, and Eclipta alba, Rorippa indica, Portulaca oleracea, Physalis angulata, and Alternanthera under broadleaf (Table 1)
The results showed that the response of weed density to the plant
Summary
Corn (Zea may L.), which is planted in 1.03 million ha producing around 4.87 million tons in 2018, is the second most important food crop in Vietnam after rice, (FAO, 2020). There are several production constraints of corn, i.e. unavailability of seeds of improved and high-yielding varieties, high cost of agricultural practices and inputs, and susceptibility to various pathogens and insects, etc. Weed infestation is considered an important constraint to corn production as weeds generally compete with the crop for light, nutrients, water, space, and allelopathy which reduce the yield and market value of the crop (El-sobky & El-naggar, 2016; Khanh et al, 2018). Herbicidal control needs repeated applications due to the reemergence of the weeds from the soil seed bank which may cause herbicide resistance in the long run with the same mode of action herbicides. Excessive use of herbicides allows for the accumulation of toxicity in agricultural products, which has negative impacts on human health, soil, and water systems, and causes damages to biodiversity (Al-Samarai et al, 2018). There is a great demand for environmentally friendly approaches to weed management as alternatives to chemical weed control to maximize sustainability in agricultural production
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