Survival and fecundity of wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum L.) plants in relation to cropping, time of emergence and chemical control

During consecutive seasons, wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum L.) seedling emergence decreased exponentially with increasing time after the emergence of lupin crops. Initial survival of seedlings was markedly reduced by pre-emergence applications of simazine at 0.75 kg a.i. ha-1. In the absence of herbicide, however, the presence of a lupin crop did not have a negative effect upon early survival. Probabilities of reproduction of wild radish plants decreased with later emergence within treatments; no plants which emerged later than 21 days after crop emergence produced seeds. Seed production by wild radish was considerably higher when lupins were sown late. Regardless of sowing date, the application of triazine herbicides reduced the amount of seeds produced to the point where grain contamination was insignificant. However, the few plants which escaped herbicide treatment produced large numbers of seeds. Virtually no seeds were produced when additional post-emergence applications of simazine (0.375 kg a.i. ha-1) were made. It is argued that the major role of post-emergence application in this crop-weed system is to prevent reproduction by plants which escape the pre-emergence application, rather than to control late-emerging plants.