A field study was conducted at the Agricultural Research Farm of Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran to investigate the effects of phosphate biofertilizer, row spacing and plant density on corn yield and weed growth. Th...A field study was conducted at the Agricultural Research Farm of Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran to investigate the effects of phosphate biofertilizer, row spacing and plant density on corn yield and weed growth. The experiment was a factorial with three factors arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The first factor was phosphate biofertilizer (inoculation and non-inoculation), the second was row spacing (conventional (75 cm) and reduced (50 cm)) and the third was plant density (66,666 plants·ha–1 (conventional plant density) 83,333 and 99,999 plants·ha–1 (1.25 and 1.5 times the conventional plant density, respectively)). Results indicated that corn yield and weed growth were significantly influenced by row spacing and plant density. So that, corn yield improved and weed biomass diminished in response to increasing plant density and decreasing row spacing. However, phosphate biofertilizer had no significant effect on corn yield, whereas, weed biomass was notably increased when phosphate biofertilizer was applied. Overall, this study revealed that both yield and weed control in corn field can be improved by alteration of the planting arrangement.展开更多
A common crop rotation in the west Iran is wheat-fallow-corn. The fallow period after wheat harvest (during fall and winter) can lead to soil erosion, nutrient losses (e.g. nitrate leaching) and offsite movement of pe...A common crop rotation in the west Iran is wheat-fallow-corn. The fallow period after wheat harvest (during fall and winter) can lead to soil erosion, nutrient losses (e.g. nitrate leaching) and offsite movement of pesticides. This period is an ideal time to establish a cover crop. In order to investigate the effects of different autumn-seeded cover crops on subsequent irrigated corn response to nitrogen fertilizer, field studies were carried out during the 2007-2008 growing season at the Agricultural Research Farm, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran. The experiment was conducted in a split plot arrangement based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. The main plots consisted of four cover crops including alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.), common vetch (Vicia sativa L.) and winter rye (Secale cereale L.) and a control (no cover crop). The sub plots consisted of two fertilizer N rates (0 and 250 kg ha-1). Cover crops were grown for nearly 5 months and then were incorporated into the soil as green manures. The results indicated that corn plant traits including seed yield, the number of seeds per ear and leaf chlorophyll content were significantly influenced by cover crops. Whereas, the cover crops had no signif-icant effects on the number of ears per plant, 100-seed weight and harvest index of corn. Among the cover crop species, common vetch produced higher dry weight and showed the highest positive effects on the corn plant traits. Dry weight produced by this cover crop was 56.41, 120.16 and 124.19% higher than those of winter rye, berseem clover and alfalfa, respectively. Common vetch enhanced seed yield, the number of seeds per ear and leaf chlorophyll content of corn by 46.30, 21.95 and 8.52%, respectively, compared to control. All of the corn traits under study, except the number of ears per plant and harvest index were significantly improved by nitrogen fertilizer. In general, this study revealed that the autumn-seeded cover crops, especially common vetch can be used to improve corn yield. However, the cover crops should be supplemented with nitrogen fertilizer to obtain optimal results.展开更多
文摘A field study was conducted at the Agricultural Research Farm of Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran to investigate the effects of phosphate biofertilizer, row spacing and plant density on corn yield and weed growth. The experiment was a factorial with three factors arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The first factor was phosphate biofertilizer (inoculation and non-inoculation), the second was row spacing (conventional (75 cm) and reduced (50 cm)) and the third was plant density (66,666 plants·ha–1 (conventional plant density) 83,333 and 99,999 plants·ha–1 (1.25 and 1.5 times the conventional plant density, respectively)). Results indicated that corn yield and weed growth were significantly influenced by row spacing and plant density. So that, corn yield improved and weed biomass diminished in response to increasing plant density and decreasing row spacing. However, phosphate biofertilizer had no significant effect on corn yield, whereas, weed biomass was notably increased when phosphate biofertilizer was applied. Overall, this study revealed that both yield and weed control in corn field can be improved by alteration of the planting arrangement.
文摘A common crop rotation in the west Iran is wheat-fallow-corn. The fallow period after wheat harvest (during fall and winter) can lead to soil erosion, nutrient losses (e.g. nitrate leaching) and offsite movement of pesticides. This period is an ideal time to establish a cover crop. In order to investigate the effects of different autumn-seeded cover crops on subsequent irrigated corn response to nitrogen fertilizer, field studies were carried out during the 2007-2008 growing season at the Agricultural Research Farm, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran. The experiment was conducted in a split plot arrangement based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. The main plots consisted of four cover crops including alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.), common vetch (Vicia sativa L.) and winter rye (Secale cereale L.) and a control (no cover crop). The sub plots consisted of two fertilizer N rates (0 and 250 kg ha-1). Cover crops were grown for nearly 5 months and then were incorporated into the soil as green manures. The results indicated that corn plant traits including seed yield, the number of seeds per ear and leaf chlorophyll content were significantly influenced by cover crops. Whereas, the cover crops had no signif-icant effects on the number of ears per plant, 100-seed weight and harvest index of corn. Among the cover crop species, common vetch produced higher dry weight and showed the highest positive effects on the corn plant traits. Dry weight produced by this cover crop was 56.41, 120.16 and 124.19% higher than those of winter rye, berseem clover and alfalfa, respectively. Common vetch enhanced seed yield, the number of seeds per ear and leaf chlorophyll content of corn by 46.30, 21.95 and 8.52%, respectively, compared to control. All of the corn traits under study, except the number of ears per plant and harvest index were significantly improved by nitrogen fertilizer. In general, this study revealed that the autumn-seeded cover crops, especially common vetch can be used to improve corn yield. However, the cover crops should be supplemented with nitrogen fertilizer to obtain optimal results.
