Weed-Crop Competition in Maize in Relation to Row Spacing and Duration

A field experiment comprising two row spacing viz. 60 and 75 cm and five durations of weed-crop competition i.e. competition for 20, 30, 40, 50 days after emergence and till harvest was conducted to observe growth and yield response of maize. There was gradual increase in dry weight of weeds with increased weed-crop competition duration. Decrease in number of grains per cob and 1000-grain was recorded with increased competition duration of weeds. Maize grain yield was increased from 1911.61 kg ha-1 in plots where weeds competed with crop till harvest to 3708.33 kg ha-1 in plots where weeds were allowed to compete for 20 days after emergence.