The possibility of maize gluten application for weed control in maize and soybean

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of maize gluten on the weeds number and dry biomass in the maize and soybean experiment. Pre-emergence maize gluten application resulted with an effective weed control in maize, whereas the soybean had the significant loss of plants, due to the gluten fitotoxicity. Post-emergence application was found to be less successful compared with pre-emergence application particularly for soybean. Panicum cruss-galli L. was the most frequent weed in the both experiment. Maize gluten rate of 300 g m2 could be recommended in control of the broad leaf weeds in maize cropping as an alternative herbicide thus a substitute for mineral nitrogen. Our research can contribute to the improvement of the weed control in sustainable cropping systems.