فهرست نشریات علمی دسترسی آزاد ایران

The current research was conducted to assess weed growth suppression in intercropped maize and cowpea related to the utilization of some environmental resources, including solar radiation, soil moisture, and space. The study was performed using a randomized complete block design with three replications. An additive series was selected to design intercropping patterns. The research was conducted in Shadegan, Khuzestan, during the 2022-23 growing season. Treatments were D1 (100% of maize density in pure stand + 25% of cowpea density in pure stand), D2 (100% of maize density in pure stand + 50% of cowpea density in pure stand), D3 (100% of maize density in pure stand + 75% of cowpea density in pure stand) and D4 (100% of maize density in pure stand + 100% of cowpea density in pure stand) and maize and cowpea sole cropping. According to the results, the patterns of intercropping utilize more solar radiation and soil moisture than pure stands of maize and cowpea. When the density of cowpea in mixed cropping patterns was increased, more solar radiation and soil moisture were utilized, with D4 exhibiting 35% and 15% solar radiation interception compared to pure stands of maize and cowpea, respectively. The moisture content of the soil at D4 was the lowest, with 80% less soil moisture compared to the pure maize stand. The efficiency for preventing weed growth was higher in intercropping patterns. When cowpea is cultivated at 25% of its pure stand (the lowest density), the weed suppression efficiency is 21% compared to sole maize. When cowpea was cultivated in its pure stand at 100% density (the highest density), the weed suppression efficiency was 36% compared to sole maize. Similar results were seen for a pure stand of cowpea. As a final remark, intercropping can reduce weed growth when cowpea is cultivated in its highest density.