Utilization of Weed Plants Alone or in Conjunction with Fertilizers in a Wheat-Maize Cropping Sequence on a Hapludalf in Hilly Region of Himachal Pradesh

Field investigations were initiated in rabi 1991–92 and carried out through (kharif 1993) on an acidic silty clay loam soil (Hapludalt) at the experimental farm of the Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur to study the effect ofEupatorium adenoforum and farmyard manure alone and in combination with four levels of nitrogen and fertilizers on yields of wheat and maize and the extent to which nitrogen could be substituted through organic manures. Though response to N was sigmficant up to 120 kg N ha⁻¹, application of FYM or Eupatorium alone or in combination with N doses further increased the yields of both the crops during the two years (except Eupatorium alone during the first year). Per cent N recovery increased when N was applied with organic manures. Combined application of 10 t FYM ha⁻¹ and 10 t ha⁻¹ of Eupatorium along with nitrogen on an average could substitute 40 and 60 kg N ha⁻¹ for wheat and maize, respectively.