Growth and Yield Response of Maize (Zea mays L.) To Different Weed Control Methods in the Western Highlands of Cameroon

Weed control is an important agronomic practice that improves growth and maximizes yield in maize. An experiment was carried out to investigate the ‘effect of different weed control methods on the growth and yield of maize (Zea mays L.) in the western highlands of Cameroon. The work was carried out during the 2017/2018 main cropping season from the 14th of March to the 14th of July at the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD) Bambui experimental field. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) and replicated three times. The experiment comprised of seven treatments: weedy check or control (T1), constant hand hoeing (T2), delay hand hoeing (T3), pre-emergence herbicide application of Atrazine 90 DF ( 0.9 kg ha-1) (T4), post-emergence herbicide application of Ultramais 100 SC (1.9 litre ha-1) (T5), pre- herbicide application of Atrazine 90 DF ( 0.9 kg ha-1) + Ultramais 100 SC (1.9 litre ha-1) (T6) and delay post-emergence herbicide application of Ultramais 100 SC (1.9 litre ha-1) (T7). The white maize variety CHC 201 (“KASAI”) was used during the experiment and sown in plot sizes of 4 m x 5 m with a planting density of 80cm by 50cm with 2 plants per station with the aim of achieving a plant population of 50,000 plants ha-1. All agronomic practices were followed from planting to harvesting. The data recorded were plant height, number of green leaves per plant, leaf area, stem girth, days to 50% tasseling, days to 50% silking, ear height, ear length, ear girth, number of gain rows per ear, number of gains per ear, 1000 grain weight and grain yield.. The data collected were analyzed with the aid of STATGRAPHICS Plus 5.0 Software and ANOVA was run to find the differences between the various treatments. The highest 1000 grain weight (314.13g) came from the pre-emergence plus post-emergence herbicide application treatment and did not differ significantly (P˃0.05) from the constant hand hoeing treatment (307.83g). The lowest 1000 grain weight (234.67g) was seen in the weedy check treatment. The constant hand hoeing had the highest grain yield (6.27 ton ha-1) and this did not differ significantly (P˃0.05) from the pre-emergence plus post-emergence herbicide application treatment (6.07 ton ha-1). The lowest grain yield (3.18 ton ha-1) was seen in the weedy check treatment. From the study, the pre-emergence plus post-emergence herbicide application may be recommended for increasing maize yield particularly in the case of high scale production.