Phyto-Extract-Based Weed Management in Organic Sweet Corn: A Comparative Analysis

A field experiment was conducted during kharif 2020 and 2021 to study the weed management in organic sweet corn through phyto-extracts at the Main Agricultural Research Station, University of Agriculture Sciences, Dharwad, Karnataka. The experiment with randomized complete block design (RCBD) was laid out with fifteen treatments, comprises of four Phyto extracts of 30% concentration (Parthenium hysterophorus, Cassia sericea, Lantana camara and Prosopis juliflora) in combinations with directed spray of respective extract at pre-emergence, 20, 40 DAS fb one inter cultivation at 40 DAS fb hand weeding and another three treatments namely T13: inter-cultivation at 20 and 40 DAS fb one hand weeding at 20 DAS, T14: weedy check and T15: weed free check. The pooled data of the experiment indicated that, inter-cultivation at 20 and 40 DAS and one hand weeding at 20 DAS recorded significantly higher the fresh cob yield (180.26 q ha-1), fresh fodder yield (341.66 q ha-1), net returns (Rs. 2,45,049 ha-1) and B:C ratio (4.16) with higher WCE as compared to other treatments. Among different phyto-extract treatments with time of application, directed spray of Parthenium hysterophorus at 30% leaf extract at 20 DAS and one inter-cultivation at 40 DAS followed by hand weeding recorded significantly higher the fresh cob yield (159.15 q ha-1), fresh fodder yield (315.13 q ha-1), net returns (Rs. 2,07,914 ha-1) and B:C ratio (3.66) with the higher WCE 80.40 and 68.76 per cent at 60 DAS and at harvest, respectively as compared to other phyto-extract treatments.