Evaluation of cultural practices for weed management in maize-based cropping system in Palam valley, Himachal Pradesh

Abstract

A study was carried out during 2017-19 at Palampur in an ongoing experiment under All India Coordinated Research Project on Weed Management (AICRP-WM). Ten weed control treatments based on hoeing, stale seed bed + hoeing, raised stale seed bed (RSSB) + hoeing, mulch, stale seed bed + mulch, raised stale seed bed (RSSB) + mulch, intercropping, crop rotation, intensive cropping and herbicide check (pendimethalin in pea/garlic and atrazine in maize) were tested during Rabi 2017-18 to Kharif 2019. There were 22 weed species in garlic and 19 weed species in maize. Phalaris minor, Daucus carota and Anagallis arvensis were the major weeds, constituting 17.0, 14.0 and 12.0 per cent, respectively of the total weed flora in garlic during 2017-18. Commelina benghalensis L., Galinsoga parviflora and Ageratum sp. were the major weeds constituting 21.0, 17.0 and 11.0 per cent, respectively of the total weed flora in maize. Maximum bulb yield (3472 kg/ha) was recorded with RSSB + hoeing and was statistically at par with herbicide check and SSB + hoeing. In maize, the highest cob yield was recorded in RSSB + mulch followed by mulch. Maize equivalent yield was higher in intercropping followed by intensive cropping and RSSB + mulch treatments. In 2019, 22 and 13 weed species occurred in pea and maize, respectively. The maximum pea pod yield was with intensive cropping followed by herbicide check in Rabi 2018-19. Herbicide check gave highest green cob yield (10323 kg/ha) of maize and was statistically equivalent to RSSB + hoeing (9208 kg/ha green cobs yield). Higher productivity (maize equivalent yield of 11420 kg/ha) was realized with the herbicide check which was at par with RSSB + hoeing (10160 kg/ha). The B:C followed the trend of intensive cropping > intercropping > herbicide check > RSSB + hoeing > RSSB + mulch.