Abstract:
Field experiments were conducted during the 2015 and 2016 cropping seasons at the Students
Research and Demonstration Farm, Faculty of Agriculture, Kogi State University, Anyigba to
evaluate the effects of weed control treatments and sheep manure application on the yield and
yield components of maize. The experiments were laid out in a split plot in a randomized
complete block design and replicated three times, with the weed control treatments allocated to
the main plots while the manure treatments were allocated to the sub plots. The trials had eight
weed control treatments in each cropping season consisting of Codal Gold,a formulation of
metalachlor + prometryne applied at 1.5 and 2.0 kg a.;/ha; atrazine + metolachlor (Primextra
Gold) at 1.5 and 2.3 kg a.i/ha; atrazine + bromoxynil at 2.1 and 2.3 kg a.i/ha; hoe weeding at 4
and 8 weeks after sowing (WAS) and a weedy check with four-rates of sheep manure at 0, 2, 4
and 6 t/ha. In these trials, plots treated with 2.3 kg a.i/ha of atrazine + bromoxynil had the least
weed cover and weed dry weight which compared favourably with the results obtained in plots
treated with atrazine + metolachlor at 2.3 kg a.i/ha in these parameters. The weedy check
consistently produced the highest weed cover score and weed dry weight in the two years of
study. Maize plants in plots treated with atrazine +bromoxynil at 2.3 kg a.i/ha had higher stem
girth, longer and larger cobs and the highest grain yield in comparison to all other treatments
applied in the trials. In a similar vein, plots treated with 6t/ha of sheep manure produced longer,
larger cobs as well as the highest grain field whereas, plots that did not receive manure treatment
gave the least in these parameters similar to the weedy check plots |
