Integrated Weed Management Studies in Maize Based Intercropping System

A field experiment was conducted during kharif seasons of 2001 and 2002 at Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Udaipur to study the effect of planting pattern and weed control methods on weeds and productivity of maize and soybean. Intercropping of maize with soybean, irrespective of their row ratio, effectively reduced the weed density and dry weight of weeds at 50 DAS compared to their pure cropping. The grain yield of maize in intercropping with soybean was statistically on par with its yield in pure stand; however, productivity of soybean crop was significantly reduced in intercropping system compared with its sole cropping. Maize-equivalent yield in maize+soybean (2: 2) planting pattern made remarkable improvement (55.55 q ha−1) compared to remaining planting patterns. Alachlor and pendimethalin integrated with one hoeing at 25 DAS were found superior in reducing population as well as dry matter of weed at 50 DAS. Alachlor+hoeing at 25 DAS gave the highest maize equivalent yield (50.88 q ha−1) which was on par with that obtained with pendimethalin+hoeing (49.09 q ha−1).