The influence of winter intercrops on the yield and yield components of maize in the subsequent sowing time

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of cover crops and interactions on yield and yield components of maize in the semi arid conditions. Research was carried out in the production years 2020 at the Rimski Šančevi experimental station of the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops in Novi Sad. The winter cover crops consisted of the combined intercrops: winter pea (Pisum sativum ssp. arvense L.) + triticale (Triticosecale) (PT) and single-species cover crops winter pea (P) and control without cover crops (C), all with nitrogen fertilization 50 kg ha -1 (N50) and without the use of fertilizer (N0). The sowing of winter cover crops was carried out in autumn in the first decade of November, and their mulching and plowing was done in the last week of May. After plowing and soil preparation, maize (NS4051) was sown in the first decade of Jun and harvested in October. The statistical significance (p<0.05) was found between different variants regarding the use of cover crops. The highest yield was achieved in a mixture of PT (N0) 8.54 t ha -1 . The use of cover crops as green manure has a positive impact on the productive properties of maize with a reduction in inputs and possible lower production costs.

Keywords

• cover crops
• mixture cover crops
• green manure
• maize