Effects of Green Manure (Hairy Vetch) Management Ways on Corn Growth and Grain Yield

Abstract

Corn is one of the three major cereals and the output has followed that wheat through the word. Especially in developing countries, corn grain is quite important as a food. Although corn production has been rapidly increased by the breeding, there are many cases in which the yield is low because of insufficient use of fertilizes in these countries, under such background, the practice of a crop rotation including leguminous green manure crop seems to be desirable. In this study nitrogen supplying capacity form hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth. HV) to corn was examined. The experiment was carried out from 2017-2018 at the Research Farm of Faculty of Agriculture Kabul University, Kabul Afghanistan. Four treatments; incorporation of HV residue (B), mulching of HV residue on the inter-rows of corn (C), chemical fertilizer (D), and control (A), were set with three replications. 180 Mohammad Zarif Sharifi, Mohammad Shoaib Ahmadi, Zabihullah Jalali Incorporation of HV residue may be able to supply inorganic nitrogen of 130 ͠ 150 kg N ha -1 to the succeeding corn, since it was reported that 40 ͠ 50 % of HV nitrogen was mineralized in soil within 3 months after the incorporation. Above-ground dry matter (AGB) of the corn has always reached at 20 mg even in control, which was due to rather high soil fertility of the field, but it become significantly higher in both HV treatments, B and C, after the silky stage corresponding to the D plot. It was estimated that HV residue could supply 40% of nitrogen demand by corn. These results designate that the nitrogen balance for corn production well be drastically improved by using HV cultivation in winter season.