Abstract
Increasing productivity of maize while decreasing production costs and maintaining soil health are emerging challenges for the rice–maize system in South Asia. A range of integrated nutrient and weed management practices were tested in winter maize for their effects on yield, profitability, and soil health. The nutrient management treatments were a partial substitution of nitrogen with bulky (Farmyard manure; vermicompost) and concentrated organic manures (Brassicaceous seed meal, BSM; neem cake), whereas weed management practices compared chemical controls only versus an integrated approach. The N supplementation through BSM diminished the weed growth by reducing weed N uptake, and enhanced the maize crop uptake of nutrients. As compared to the sole chemical approach, atrazine-applied pre-emergence followed by hoeing reduced weed density by 58 and 67% in years 1 and 2, respectively. The N supplementation through BSM resulted in the maximum yield of maize grain (6.13 and 6.50 t ha−1 in year 1 and year 2, respectively) and this treatment increased yield in year 2 compared to N application through synthetic fertilizer. Hoeing in conjugation with herbicide enhanced the maize grain yield by 9% over herbicide alone. The maximum net return and economic efficiency were achieved with the application of BSM for N supplementation, together with the integrated weed management practice.
Highlights
Maize production is expanding in South Asia as a human food and animal feed
The weed species observed in the maize study were Anagallis arvensis L., Cyperus rotundus L., Alternanthera philoxeroides (Mart.) Griseb., Vicia hirsuta (L.) Gray and Launaea aspleniifolia (Willd.)
In maize, but in year 2, the density of weeds was significantly reduced with the application Brassicaceous seed meal (BSM)
Summary
Maize production is expanding in South Asia as a human food and animal feed. Since it can be grown throughout the year in this environment and due to its high yield potential and strong market demand, maize is replacing areas of winter wheat, monsoon, and winter rice. In India, maize is grown on 9.2 m ha, with an annual production of about 24 m t [1]. The use of inorganic fertilizers for enhancing food grain production is unavoidable, given that the issue of food security poses challenges from the local to the global scale. The inorganic nitrogenous (N) fertilizers are polluting water bodies (through leaching) as well as posing serious toxic consequences to the food chain. Zhang et al [4] reported that considerable portions of inorganic N fertilizer are used to undergo various transformations, such as ammonia volatilization, denitrification and leaching, leading to pollution of the surrounding agro-environment
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