Allelopathic potential of Sorghum for weed control in Maize (Zea mays L.) in climate change sustainable agriculture

Allelopathy is a natural phenomenon which has proved helpful in eradicating unwanted flora in the field crops. Many attempts have been made, over the years, to minimize chemical weed control which has come in handy for the purpose. In the current study, various allelopathic treatments were used as sole or combined application with chemical herbicide "atrazine". The results showed that these treatments had a profound inhibiting effect on the fresh and dry weeds weight of T. portulacastrum, C. rotundus and E. colona, wherein 1000-grains weight and grain yield was also enhanced. Among the treatments, sorghum mulch, sorgaab sprays (double and triple), combination of sorghum mulch and sorgaab and that of sorgaab and half dose of atrazine, all performed better than the control, however single spray of sorgaab didn't prove effective. Combination of sorgaab with half dose of atrazine was economically viable treatment as well. Therefore, it was concluded that the herbicide rate can be reduced to half if sorghum water extract is combined with it to control weeds in maize crop.