IMPACT OF MAIZE-LEGUME INTERCROPPING ON WEEDS AND MAIZE CROP

To evaluate the influence of cereal-legume intercropping on weeds growth and maize yield (variety Azam), an experiment was carried out during summer 2011 at Agricultural Research Farm, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agricultural University Peshawar, Pakistan. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design keeping three replications, comprising of eleven treatments viz, intercrop maize + 1 row of soybean simultaneously seeded, intercrop maize + 2 rows of soybean simultaneously seeded, intercrop maize + 1 row of soybean delay seeded by 3 weeks, intercrop maize + 2 rows of soybean delay seeded by 3 weeks, intercrop maize + 1 row of mungbean simultaneously seeded, intercrop maize + 2 rows of mungbean simultaneously seeded, intercrop maize + 1 row of mungbean delay seeded by 3 weeks, intercrop maize + 2 rows of mungbean delay seeded by 3 weeks, sole maize (weedy check), and sole maize (hand weeded). All the treatments significantly affected the parameters of weed density m^-2, maize leaf area (cm^2), thousand grain weight (g), number of grains ear-1, biological yield (kg ha^-1) and grain yield of maize. Highest weed density of 230 plants m^-2 was found in the sole maize (weedy check). Hand weeding and maize soybean intercropping resulted in the highest thousand grain weights (261.5 and 275.3 g), biological yields (11566 and 11370 kg ha^-1), grain yields (4954 and 4784 kg ha^-1) and leaf area of maize (4143 and 4343 cm^2). In conclusion, the hand weeding and maize intercropping with soybean treatments were the most effective treatments in terms of weeds suppression and grain yield enhancement of maize crop.