Growth and yield of sweet corn with legume living mulches

Abstract

To evaluate the effect of living mulch, we examined the weed biomass and the growth and yield of sweet corn (Zea mays L.) cultivated with three legume living mulches without the application of herbicide and without tillage. The living mulch plants alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) and white clover (Trifolium repens L.) were seeded in autumn. During the corn growth period in the following year, weed growth was effectively suppressed by all three living mulch plants. Both growth rate and yield of sweet corn with white clover living mulch were comparable to the conventional cultivation, but alfalfa and red clover living mulches caused the yield reduction in sweet corn. The percentage of stand was thought to have been reduced due to the competition for light and nutrients. The nitrogen absorption rate of sweet corn increased with its growth. On the other hand, the nitrogen absorption rate of living mulch plants decreased with the growth of sweet corn. These results suggest that competition between sweet corn and living mulch plants for nitrogen would be small. We concluded that white clover is the best of the three legume living mulch plants for weed control without significantly affecting sweet corn production.