Abstract
One of the most important stress factors in maize (Zea mays L.) fields is weed competition, which reduces the crop yield. Weeds chiefly interfere with maize and establish considerable competition for light, water and nutrients. To avoid these harmful effects, there are different agronomic measures and factors among which, the most relevant are the interactions between crop and weed, weed management practices and type of germplasm. This study attempts to evaluate maize germplasm for tolerance to weed competition in order to achieve competitive ability and suitability for farming. Ten genotypes of maize, classified into two groups, i.e. improved populations and traditional cultivars, were grown under four types of weed management practices (mechanical harrowing control, chemical control, combination of harrowing and chemical control and untreated control as check) for three years (from 2009 to 2011) in Zaragoza (Spain). We found that the effect of weed management practices was not significantly different, whereas the genotype effect was highly significant, with genotype EZS34 (mean yield of 7.7 Mg ha-1) showing the highest yield. Other traits, such as earliness, displayed a good behaviour under weed competition. On the other hand, harrowing management proved to be the most effective method of weed control although it did not show a significant response. The best results are associated with some maize genotypes that have a specific adaptation to local conditions, according to their genetic background.
Highlights
Maize (Zea mays L.) is an important crop in Spain, being planted in year 2012 in an area of 345,000 ha with an annual production of 3.5 million tons, and average of 10.1 Mg ha–1 (FAO, 2012)
Tillage, cover crops, soil type, type of crop, the relative humidity, herbicide use and farming practices have been found to be relevant driving factors to explain the abundance of weeds (Derksen et al, 1993)
The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of weeds on ten maize genotypes under four weeding management practices
Summary
Maize (Zea mays L.) is an important crop in Spain, being planted in year 2012 in an area of 345,000 ha with an annual production of 3.5 million tons, and average of 10.1 Mg ha–1 (FAO, 2012). There are several stress factors responsible for reducing maize productivity, of which weeds are the most important, causing about 13% of global losses (Oerke et al, 1994). An integrated weed management system must take all aspects of a cropping system into consideration, since they are influenced by multiple abiotic and biotic factors (Tollenaar et al, 1994). Tillage, cover crops, soil type, type of crop, the relative humidity, herbicide use and farming practices have been found to be relevant driving factors to explain the abundance of weeds (Derksen et al, 1993). Are more important than environmental factors (Shrestha et al, 2002) or tillage managements (Swanton et al, 1999), with crop type being the main determining factor of weed population (Fried et al, 2008) Recent studies suggest that human management factors, such as sowing date, type of seeds, crop rotation, etc. are more important than environmental factors (Shrestha et al, 2002) or tillage managements (Swanton et al, 1999), with crop type being the main determining factor of weed population (Fried et al, 2008)
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