Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-42gr6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-24T16:11:34.595Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

Charles L. Mohler
Charles L. Mohler*
Affiliation:
Sect. of Ecology & Systematics, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY 14853
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

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.

Keywords

Atrazine, 6-chloro-N-ethyl-N′-(1-methylethyl)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamineglyphosate, N-(phosphonomethyl)glycinemetolachlor, 2-chloro-N-(2-ethyl-6-methylphenyl)-N-(2-methoxy-1-methylethyl)acetamidecommon lambsquarters, Chenopodium album L. ♯ CHEALdandelion, Taraxacum officinale Weber in Wiggers ♯ TAROFhorseweed, Conyza canadensis (L.) Cronq. ♯ ERICAlarge crabgrass, Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop. ♯ DIGSAredroot pigweed, Amaranthus retroflexus L. ♯ AMARErye, Secale cereale L.sweet corn, Zea mays L.white clover, Trifolium repens L.No-tilltillageliving mulch2,4-DBfluazifopparaquatAmaranthus retroflexusChenopodium albumConyza canadensisDigitaria sanguinalisSecale cerealeTaraxacum officinaleTrifolium repens. AMARECHEALDIGSAERICATAROF
Type
Research
Information
Weed Technology , Volume 5 , Issue 3 , September 1991 , pp. 545 - 552
Copyright
Copyright © 1991 Weed Science Society of America 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Literature Cited

1. Akobundu, I. O. 1980. Live mulch: a new approach to weed control and crop production in the tropics. Proc. 1980 Br. Crop Prot. Conf. p. 377–382.Google Scholar
2. Akobundu, I. O. 1982. Live mulch crop production in the tropics. World Crops 34:125–126, 144–145.Google Scholar
3. Barnes, J. P., and Putnam, A. R. 1983. Rye residues contribute weed suppression in no-tillage cropping systems. J. Chem. Ecol. 9: 1045–1057.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4. Barnes, J. P., and Putnam, A. R. 1986. Evidence for allelopathy by residues and aqueous extracts of rye (Secale cereale). Weed Sci. 34: 384–390.Google Scholar
5. Bellinder, R. R., and Warholic, D. T. 1988. Comparison of five herbicide programs for no-tillage sweet corn. Proc. Northeast. Weed Sci. Soc. 43:216–220.Google Scholar
6. Chancellor, R. J. 1964. Emergence of weed seedlings in the field and the effects of different frequencies of cultivation. Proc. 7th Br. Weed Control Conf. p. 599–606.Google Scholar
7. Eckert, D. J. 1988. Rye cover crops for no-tillage corn and soybean production. J. Prod. Agric. 1:207–210.Google Scholar
8. Elkins, D., Frederking, D., Marashi, R., and McVay, B. 1983. Living mulch for no-till corn and soybeans. J. Soil Water Conserv. 38: 431–433.Google Scholar
9. Enache, A. J., and Ilnicki, R. D. 1990. Weed control by subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum) used as a living mulch. Weed Technol. 4:534–538.Google Scholar
10. Froud-Williams, R. J., Chancellor, R. J., and Drennan, D.S.H. 1984. The effects of seed burial and soil disturbance on emergence and survival of arable weeds in relation to minimal cultivation. J. Appl. Ecol. 21: 629–641.Google Scholar
11. Gebhardt, M. R., Daniel, T. C., Schweizer, E. E., and Allmaras, R. R. 1985. Conservation tillage. Science 230:625–630.Google Scholar
12. Hartwig, N. L. 1989. Influence of a crownvetch living mulch on dandelion invasion in corn. Proc. Northeast. Weed Sci. Soc. 43:25–28.Google Scholar
13. Jones, J. N. Jr., Moody, J. E., and Lillard, J. H. 1969. Effects of tillage, no tillage and mulch on soil water and plant growth. Agron. J. 61: 719–721.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14. Liebl, R. A., and Worsham, A. D. 1983. Tillage and mulch effects on morningglory (Ipomoea spp.) and certain other weed species. Proc. South. Weed Sci. Soc. 36:405–414.Google Scholar
15. Loughran, J. C., and Hartwig, N. L. 1987. Crownvetch as influenced by tillage in a corn-crownvetch living mulch system. Proc. Northeast. Weed Sci. Soc. 41:7–12.Google Scholar
16. Mitchell, W. H., and Teel, M R. 1977. Winter-annual cover crops for no-tillage corn production. Agron. J. 69:569–573.Google Scholar
17. Mohler, C. L., and Callaway, M. B. 1991. Effects of tillage and mulch on the emergence and survival of weeds in sweet corn. J. Appl. Ecol., in press.Google Scholar
18. Moschler, W. W., Shear, G. M., Hallock, D. L., Sears, R. D., and Jones, G. D. 1967. Winter cover crops for sod-planted corn: their selection and management. Agron. J. 59:547–551.Google Scholar
19. Ndon, B. A. and Harvey, R. G. 1981. Influence of herbicides and tillage on sweet corn double cropped after peas. Agron. J. 73:791–795.Google Scholar
20. Petersen, K. L., Mack, H. J., and Booster, D. E. 1986. Effect of tillage on sweet corn development and yield. J. Am. Soc. Hortic. Sci. 111: 39–42.Google Scholar
21. Putnam, A. R., and DeFrank, J. 1983. Use of phytotoxic plant residues for selective weed control. Crop Prot. 2:173–181.Google Scholar
22. Shilling, D. G., Liebl, R. A., and Worsham, A. D. 1985. Rye (Secale cereale L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) mulch: the suppression of certain broadleaved weeds and the isolation and identification of phytotoxins. p. 243–271 in Thompson, A. C., ed. The Chemistry of Allelopathy. A.C.S. Symp. Ser. 268.Google Scholar
23. Shilling, D. G., Worsham, A. D., and Danehower, D. A. 1986. Influence of mulch, tillage, and diphenamid on weed control, yield and quality in no-till flue-cured tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). Weed Sci. 34:738–744.Google Scholar
24. Smittle, D. A., Threadgill, E. D., and Seigler, W. E. 1981. Sweet corn growth, yield, and nutrient uptake responses to tillage systems. J. Am. Soc. Hortic. Sci. 106:49–53.Google Scholar
25. Snedecor, G. W., and Cochran, W. G. 1967. Statistical Methods, 6th Ed. Iowa State Univ. Press, Ames, IA.Google Scholar
26. Van Dorn, D. M. Jr., and Triplett, G. B. Jr. 1973. Mulch and tillage relationships in corn culture. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 37:766–769.Google Scholar
27. Vrabel, T. E., Minotti, P. L., and Sweet, R. D. 1980. Seeded legumes as living mulches in sweet corn. Proc. Northeast. Weed Sci. Soc. 34: 171–175.Google Scholar
28. Vrabel, T. E., Minotti, P. L., and Sweet, R. D. 1981. Legume sods as living mulches in sweet corn. Proc. Northeast. Weed Sci. Soc. 35: 158–159.Google Scholar
29. Wesson, G., and Wareing, P. F. 1969. The role of light in the germination of naturally occurring populations of buried weed seeds. J. Exp. Bot. 20:402–413.Google Scholar