Impact of Live Mulch, Brown Manuring and Herbicides on Growth and Yield of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) in Southern Midland Zone of Kerala, India

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during the rabi season of 2023 at the Farming System Research Station, Sadanandapuram, Kerala, to evaluate the effects of live mulch, brown manuring and herbicides effect as weed management method on growth and yield of sorghum. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design with ten treatments, replicated thrice. The treatments included: Broadcasting cowpea seeds @ 15 kg ha -1 fb live mulch at 25 DAS, Broadcasting cowpea seeds @ 30 kg ha -1 fb live mulch at 25 DAS, Broadcasting cowpea seeds @ 15 kg ha -1 fb brown manuring with 2,4-D 1 kg ha-1 at 20 DAS, Broadcasting cowpea seeds @ 30 kg ha -1 fb brown manuring with 2,4-D 1 kg ha-1 at 20 DAS, PE pretilachlor 0.75 kg ha-1fb one HW at 25 DAS, fenoxaprop-p-ethyl 0.06 kg ha-1 at 20 DAS, T7:PoE 2,4-D 1 kg ha-1 at 20 DAS, HW at 20 DAS, Weed free control and Weedy check. Among the treatments, broadcasting cowpea seeds at 30 kg ha⁻¹ followed by live mulch at 25 DAS (T2) resulted the higher growth parameters, including plant height, number of leaves per plant, and dry matter production at 45 DAS and harvest. Leaf area per plant and leaf area index were also significantly higher in T2 at 30 and 45 DAS. Yield attributes, such as panicle length, number of grains per panicle, grain weight per panicle, grain yield, stover yield and harvest index were higher in T2. Broadcasting cowpea seeds @ 30 kg ha -1fb brown manuring with 2,4-D 1 kg ha-1 at 20 DAS, pre-emergence pretilachlor 0.75 kg ha⁻¹ fb hand weeding at 25 DAS, post-emergence fenoxaprop-p-ethyl 0.06 kg ha⁻¹ at 20 DAS and weed free control performed statistically comparable with T2 in terms of growth and yield attributes.