Abstract
Narrower corn row widths, higher crop densities, and interrow cultivation may be used as part of integrated weed management (IWM). During a three-year study, we tested whether these factors affected corn growth, development and grain yield at final harvest, and weed biomass when weeds were late-emerging (after the three-leaf stage of corn). Increasing corn density from 7 to 10 plants m −2 or decreasing row width from 75 to 50 cm significantly increased corn leaf area index (LAI), and reduced photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) available for a mixture of weed species located below the corn canopy. Narrower rows and higher corn density significantly reduced biomass of late-emerging weeds. Corn yields increased significantly (10 to 15%) only when narrower rows were used. Intraspecific competition between corn plants in the higher density significantly reduced early corn growth and offset any gain in yield from reduced weed competition. In comparison to plots where late-emerging weeds grew uncontrolled, interrow cultivation did not decrease biomass of late-emerging weeds, hence did not increase corn yield. We recommend using narrower row widths to reduce weed competition and increase corn yield. Increased corn densities had no net yield benefit. Early-season weed management is crucial as the later-emerging weeds were less important in terms of their effect on yield.
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Claims 10
Claim · model-written summary
Higher corn density or narrower rows significantly increased corn leaf area index.
- Treatment
- Increasing corn density from 7 to 10 plants m −2 or decreasing row width from 75 to 50 cme1
- Outcome
- corn leaf area index (LAI)e1
- Direction
- increasede1
Zea maysNot reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Corn (Zea mays)”
e1“Increasing corn density from 7 to 10 plants m −2 or decreasing row width from 75 to 50 cm significantly increased corn leaf area index (LAI), and reduced photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) available for a mixture of weed species located below the corn canopy”
Claim · model-written summary
Higher corn density or narrower rows reduced the photosynthetic photon flux density available to the weed mixture below the corn canopy.
- Treatment
- Increasing corn density from 7 to 10 plants m −2 or decreasing row width from 75 to 50 cme1
- Interactor
- a mixture of weed speciese1weed
- Outcome
- photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) available for a mixture of weed speciese1
- Direction
- reducede1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Corn (Zea mays)”
e1“Increasing corn density from 7 to 10 plants m −2 or decreasing row width from 75 to 50 cm significantly increased corn leaf area index (LAI), and reduced photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) available for a mixture of weed species located below the corn canopy”
Claim · model-written summary
Narrower rows and higher corn density significantly reduced the biomass of late-emerging weeds.
- Treatment
- Narrower rows and higher corn densitye2
- Interactor
- late-emerging weedse2weed
- Outcome
- biomass of late-emerging weedse2
- Direction
- reducede2
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Corn (Zea mays)”
e2“Narrower rows and higher corn density significantly reduced biomass of late-emerging weeds”
Claim · model-written summary
Corn yield increased significantly by 10 to 15% only when narrower rows were used.
- Treatment
- narrower rowse3
- Outcome
- Corn yieldse3
- Direction
- increasede3
- Value
- 10 to 15%e3
- Qualifier
- only when narrower rows were usede3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Corn (Zea mays)”
e3“Corn yields increased significantly (10 to 15%) only when narrower rows were used”
Claim · model-written summary
Intraspecific competition at the higher corn density significantly reduced early corn growth and offset the yield gain from reduced weed competition.
- Treatment
- higher densitye4
- Outcome
- early corn growthe4
- Direction
- reducede4
- Qualifier
- offset any gain in yield from reduced weed competitione4
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Corn (Zea mays)”
e4“Intraspecific competition between corn plants in the higher density significantly reduced early corn growth and offset any gain in yield from reduced weed competition”
Claim · model-written summary
Increased corn density had no net yield benefit.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Corn (Zea mays)”
e5“Increased corn densities had no net yield benefit”
Claim · model-written summary
Interrow cultivation did not decrease the biomass of late-emerging weeds compared with plots where they grew uncontrolled.
- Treatment
- interrow cultivatione6
- Interactor
- late-emerging weedse6weed
- Outcome
- biomass of late-emerging weedse6
- Direction
- did not decreasee6
- Comparator
- plots where late-emerging weeds grew uncontrollede6
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Corn (Zea mays)”
e6“In comparison to plots where late-emerging weeds grew uncontrolled, interrow cultivation did not decrease biomass of late-emerging weeds, hence did not increase corn yield”
Claim · model-written summary
Interrow cultivation did not increase corn yield compared with plots where late-emerging weeds grew uncontrolled.
- Treatment
- interrow cultivatione6
- Outcome
- corn yielde6
- Direction
- did not increasee6
- Comparator
- plots where late-emerging weeds grew uncontrollede6
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Corn (Zea mays)”
e6“In comparison to plots where late-emerging weeds grew uncontrolled, interrow cultivation did not decrease biomass of late-emerging weeds, hence did not increase corn yield”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors recommend narrower corn row widths to reduce weed competition and increase corn yield.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Corn (Zea mays)”
e7“We recommend using narrower row widths to reduce weed competition and increase corn yield”
Claim · model-written summary
Early-season weed management is crucial, because later-emerging weeds were less important for yield.
- Outcome
- Early-season weed managemente7
- Qualifier
- later-emerging weeds were less important in terms of their effect on yielde7
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Corn (Zea mays)”
e7“Early-season weed management is crucial as the later-emerging weeds were less important in terms of their effect on yield”
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