Effects of Tillage and Mulch on Weed Biomass and Sweet Corn Yield

Abstract

Sweet corn was grown with a living mulch of white clover, a dead mulch of rye, and without mulch, in both till and no-till conditions. Unplanted controls were also included in the experimental design. Corn yields were highest in clover treatments early in the experiment but lowest in later years. The declining yields in the clover living mulch were related to the strip application of glyphosate which allowed establishment of perennial and biennial weeds, notably dandelion and horseweed. These overwintering weeds apparently prevented effective control of summer annuals, especially redroot pigweed, common lambsquarters and large crabgrass, by atrazine and metolachlor. Presence of a rye mulch decreased weed biomass and had no detrimental effect on corn yield. In general, corn yield was not affected by tillage, although the number of marketable ears was reduced in the no-till treatments during the drought year of 1988. The much greater weed biomass in the unplanted control treatments showed the importance of crop competition for weed control in sweet corn cropping systems.