Influence of sowing dates and weeding regimes on growth attributes and maize dry fodder yield

Effective agricultural practices are pivotal for ensuring optimal crop yields and sustainable farming. Two critical factors that significantly influence crop productivity are the date of planting and the weeding regime. An experiment was carried out to investigate how the timing of planting and the frequency of weeding impact the growth characteristics and fodder yield of maize. The study involved three planting dates viz. 15 November (D1), 15 December (D2) and 14 January (D3) along with five different weeding regimes viz. no weeding (W0), two hand weedings at 15 and 30 days after sowing (DAS) (W1), pre-emergence herbicide (pendimethalin) + one hand weeding at 30 DAS (W2), post-emergence herbicide (pyrazosulfuran-ethyl) + one hand weeding at 30 DAS (W3), and pre-emergence herbicide (pendimethalin) + post-emergence (pyrazosulfuran-ethyl) herbicide (W4). The growth characteristics and the amount of dry fodder produced were notably affected by the timing of planting, the method of weeding and how these factors interacted. At harvest, the tallest plant (138.48 cm) and total dry matter production plant-1 (37.32 g) were recorded in the plants sown on 15 November with the application of pre-emergence herbicide (pendimethalin) + one hand weeding at 30 DAS. The maximum number of leaves plant-1 (13.33) and leaf chlorophyll content (116.60) were obtained from15 November with the application of pre-emergence herbicide (pendimethalin) + post-emergence (pyrazosulfuran-ethyl) herbicide and 14 January with the application of pre-emergence herbicide (pendimethalin) + one hand weeding at 30 DAS. The highest dry fodder yield (4.14 t ha-1) was achieved with maize planted on 15 November and treated with pre-emergence herbicide (pendimethalin) + one hand weeding at 30 days after sowing. Based on the study, it can be concluded that planting on November 15 using a pre-emergence + one hand weeding 30 days after sowing may result in the tallest plants, maximum total dry matter production and the maximum dry fodder yield of maize.