Corn (Zea mays) Yield in Relationship to Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense) Population

Abstract

Corn (Zea maysL.) grain yield was measured in a 5-yr study at two locations in central Ohio in relationship to johnsongrass [Sorghum halepense(L.) Pers. # SORHA] populations infesting the plots. Herbicide treatments were EPTC + R-25788 (S-ethyl dipropyl carbamothioate) + (N,N-diallyl-2,2-dichloroacetamide) at 6.7 kg ai/ha to corn in a monoculture and in a 3-yr rotation of winter wheat (Triticum aestivumL.), corn, and soybeans [Glycine max(L.) Merr.], with each crop being grown each year. There were large increases in johnsongrass populations in the monocultures during the course of the 5-yr study, and corn grain yield fell to zero, even though ear formation was not greatly reduced. Conversely, johnsongrass populations in the rotation were low and maize grain yields and numbers of ears remained high. The differential in grain yields between the two treatments was apparently due chiefly to lack of pollination or kernel development, since ears were formed in approximately equal numbers, except for the last year.