Abstract
Weed interference is a major constraint in maize cultivation. Living mulch as an alternative weed control strategy has been established to be environmentally safe but has not been widely used in maize cultivation. The aim of this research was to evaluate the weed management attributes of Vigna unguiculata in maize cropping. A field study was carried out in the crop garden of the Department of Crop Protection and Environmental Biology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. The treatments were maize interplanted with Cowpea at 20,000 (M1), 30,000 (M2), 40,000 (M3) plants/hectare, hoe weeding (M4), weedy check (M5) and Primextra-2.5 L/ha (M6). The treatments were arranged in randomized complete block design, each replicated four times. Weed Dry Weight (WDW) and Weed Control Efficiency–WCE (%) were calculated following standardized methods. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and ANOVA at α0.05. The treatment plots were dominated by weed species in the Asteraceae, Fabaceae and Poaceae families. The M5 accounted for the highest WDW (126.30 g). The WCE was highest in M3 (94.8%) and least in M5 (66.4%). Maize and cowpea interplant at 40,000 plants/hectare suppressed weed. Hence, cowpea is an ideal weed suppressant and can be inter-planted as a cover crop in maize cropping systems.
Highlights
Weed interference is a major constraint in maize cultivation
Soil void of mulch is usually prone to problems such as wearing of top soil, fertilizer and pesticide runoff into underground and surface waters
The growing of live mulches in the midst of arable crops simultaneously has great possibility of reducing man-hour used on weed control and the amount spent on weed management in addition to maximizing return (Weber et al, 2017)
Summary
Living mulch as an alternative weed control strategy has been established to be environmentally safe but has not been widely used in maize cultivation. The treatments were maize interplanted with Cowpea at 20,000 (M1), 30,000 (M2), 40,000 (M3) plants/hectare, hoe weeding (M4), weedy check (M5) and Primextra-2.5 L/ha (M6). Maize and cowpea interplant at 40,000 plants/hectare suppressed weed. Cowpea is an ideal weed suppressant and can be inter-planted as a cover crop in maize cropping systems. The reduction of weed incidence in maize through cover crop interplanting is dependent on a number of factors, including manipulation of plant arrangement, planting and interplant species, fertilizer doses and period of assessment. Weed control had remained the highest time consuming operation of all the cultural practices in crop production in Nigeria. It is essential to assess its preferred planting density to effectively suppress weeds in the maize cropping system
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
