My maize gets choked by grasses and broadleaf weeds in the first month. Which weed control works for makka?
4 Answers
Maize is vulnerable to weeds in the first 30 to 40 days, and weeds in this period cause the biggest yield loss, so early control is the priority. A common, effective plan is a pre-emergence herbicide such as atrazine, applied within 1 to 3 days of sowing on a moist field, which controls many grasses and broadleaf weeds in maize. Atrazine is widely recommended for maize but is selective, so it must be used only in maize and at the label dose, and you must be careful about the following crop in rotation since atrazine residue can affect some sensitive crops. For escapes or later flushes, a post-emergence option such as tembotrione or topramezone (registered for maize) or an early inter-cultivation can be used. One hoeing or inter-row cultivation at 20 to 25 days also works well in wider-spaced maize and earths up the crop at the same time. Use only herbicides recommended for maize, follow the product label dose, timing and rotation cautions, and confirm with your KVK, because atrazine and other maize herbicides can harm non-target crops and the wrong use can damage the crop.
Atrazine right after sowing on a moist field kept my makka clean for the critical first month. Just be careful what you sow next because of the residue.
Because maize is wide-spaced, one inter-cultivation at about three weeks does double duty: it kills weeds and earths up the rows. I combine that with the pre-emergence spray.
Mind the next crop after atrazine. A neighbour had trouble with a sensitive crop sown too soon after. Confirm the rotation gap with the KVK.