Abstract—There are limitations for use to herbicide in sweet corn production. In addition, organic standards prohibit the use of synthetic herbicides. Mulching has long been used as a non-chemical weed control practice suitable for organic farms. Field experiment was conducted during the period of July to September in 2010 at the research farm of the faculty of agriculture on the Varamin-Pishva branch, Islamic Azad University, Varamin, Iran. The experimental setup was a randomized complete block with six treatments of clear, black, blue and white on black plastic film, unmulched weed control and weedy check with three replications. Although the differences among plastic mulches were not significant, the highest weed dry weight recorded in clear plastic. The black, white on black and blue polyethylene mulches resulted in complete elimination of weeds. The highest plant height, stem diameter, LAI, total dry matter and fresh-kernel yield was recorded for plants grown on white/black plastic mulch. Dry weight of tillers significantly increased in mulched treatment. In areas where soil warming is not beneficial, co-extruded white on black plastic mulch can be used to establish crops in the summer.

Index Terms—polyethylene mulch, tiller, weed

Cite: H. R. Rajablariani, M. Sheykhmohamady, and M. AghaAlikhani, "Growth of Sweet Corn and Weeds in Response to Colored Plastic Mulches," Journal of Advanced Agricultural Technologies, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 42-45, June 2015. Doi: 10.12720/joaat.2.1.42-45