Weed response and crop growth in winter wheat–lucerne intercropping: a comparison of conventional and reduced soil-tillage conditions in northern France

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (11) ◽  
pp. 1070 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Barilli ◽  
M.-H. Jeuffroy ◽  
J. Gall ◽  
S. de Tourdonnet ◽  
S. Médiène

Changing agricultural practices from conventional to conservation tillage generally leads to increased weed populations and herbicide use. To gain information about the possible use of lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) cover crop as an alternative and sustainable weed-control strategy for winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), an experiment was performed at Thiverval-Grignon, France, from 2008 to 2010. We compared conventional and reduced tillage as well as the presence and absence of living mulch (i.e. lucerne) on weeds and wheat production. Percentage soil coverage and aboveground biomass of wheat, lucerne and weeds were measured at the end of grain filling. Weed communities were analysed in terms of composition and diversity. During both seasons, wheat biomass did not significantly decrease in reduced-till trials compared with conventional ones (7.0 and 7.2 t ha–1, respectively, in 2008–09; 6.9 and 7.1 t ha–1 in 2009–10). Regardless of soil management, the percentage soil coverage by wheat significantly decreased when it was intercropped, although wheat biomass was not significantly reduced compared with the sole crop. To minimise cash-crop losses, we studied the competition between wheat, lucerne and weeds, testing various herbicide strategies. Early control of lucerne allowed better balance between weed control and wheat development. In addition, weed communities varied among treatments in terms of abundance and composition, being reduced but more varied in plots associated with lucerne. A functional group analysis showed that grasses benefited from reduced-till conditions, whereas problematic weeds such as annuals with creeping and climbing morphologies were substantially reduced. In addition, annual and perennial broad-leaf species with rosette morphology were also significantly decreased when lucerne was used as living mulch. Wheat production in reduced-till conditions intercropped with lucerne living mulch may be useful for integrated weed management, reducing the need for herbicides.

1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 651-659 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Derksen ◽  
R. E. Blackshaw ◽  
S. M. Boyetchko

The sustainability of conservation tillage is dependent on the extent of changes in weed community composition, the usage of herbicides, and the development of integrated weed management (IWM) strategies, including biological weed control. The objective of this paper is to review research on conservation tillage and weed management in light of these factors. Recent Canadian research has found that changes in weed communities due to the adoption of conservation tillage are not necessarily those expected and were not consistant by species, location, or year. Changes reflected the use of different selection pressures, such as different crop rotations and herbicides, within the studies to a greater extent than weed life cycle groupings. Therefore, research that determines the reasons for change or the lack of change in weed communities is required to provide the scientific basis for the development of IWM strategies. Documented herbicide usage in conservation tillage varies from less than to more than conventional-tillage systems. Potential to reduce herbicide usage in conservation-tillage systems exists. Furthermore, the herbicides used in western Canada are different from those causing ground water contamination in the United States, are less volatile, and are used at lower rates. The presence of surface crop residues in conservation tillage may provide a unique environment for classical and inundative biological control agents. Some insects, fungi, and bacteria have the potential to survive to a greater extent in undisturbed plant residues. Residue management and conservation tillage systems are evolving in Canada. Research must keep pace by providing weed management strategies that enchance the sustainability of these systems. Key words: Biological control, zero tillage, integrated weed management, residues, herbicides, rhizobacteria.


1994 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 193-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. A. Loeppky ◽  
D. A. Derksen

Quackgrass [Elytrigia repens (L.) Nevski] is a widespread perennial weed traditionally controlled by tillage, a practice which can contribute to soil erosion and degradation. This study was initiated to determine the impact of integrated weed management strategies utilizing crop rotation, conservation tillage, and postemergence herbicides on quackgrass. Rotations of tall and semi-dwarf winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. 'Norstar' and 'Norwin') or spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L. 'Katepwa' and 'HY320') with mustard (Brassica juncea 'Common Brown') and flax (Linum usitatissimum L. 'Norlin') were conducted at Indian Head, Saskatchewan for 4 yr to determine their effect on quackgrass shoot density, rhizome dry weight and rhizome node density. The presence or absence of winter wheat within the crop rotation had the greatest impact on quackgrass growth. During years when drought hampered winter wheat establishment, quackgrass growth was greater in winter wheat than in spring wheat, but under conditions favoring winter wheat establishment, the opposite occurred. Quackgrass growth in standard height wheat was similar to semi-dwarf wheat. Annual differences in quackgrass growth occurred between mustard and flax, but overall, no trend developed. Shoot density, rhizome biomass, and rhizome node density were not consistently correlated to crop yield. Crop rotation is a useful component of an integrated quackgrass management system. Key words: Integrated weed management (IWM), quackgrass, Elytrigia repens, crop rotation, conservation tillage


Agronomy ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 167
Author(s):  
Miriam Hannah Messelhäuser ◽  
Marcus Saile ◽  
Bernd Sievernich ◽  
Roland Gerhards

Effective control of Alopecurus myosuroides Huds. (blackgrass) solely with a chemical treatment is not guaranteed anymore because populations exhibit resistance to almost all herbicide modes of action. Integrated weed management (IWM) against blackgrass is necessary to maintain high weed control efficacies in winter cereals. Four field experiments were conducted in Southwest Germany from 2018 to 2020 to control A. myosuroides with a combination of cultural and chemical methods. Stubble treatments, including flat, deep and inversion soil tillage; false seedbed preparation and glyphosate use, were combined with the application of the new pre-emergence herbicide cinmethylin in two rates in winter wheat. Average densities of A. myosuroides in the untreated control plots were up to 505 plants m−2. The combination of different stubble management strategies and the pre-emergence herbicide cinmethylin controlled 86–97% of A. myosuroides plants at the low rate and 95–100% at the high rate until 120 days after sowing. The different stubble tillage practices varied in their efficacy between trials and years. Most effective and consistent were pre-sowing glyphosate application on the stubble and stale seedbed preparation with a disc harrow. Stubble treatments increased winter wheat density in the first year but had no effect on crop density in the second year. Pre-emergence application of cinmethylin did not reduce winter wheat densities. Multiple tactics of weed control, including stubble treatments and pre-emergence application of cinmethylin, provided higher and more consistent control of A. myosuroides. Integration of cultural weed management could prevent the herbicide resistance development.


Agriculture ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Sims ◽  
Sandra Corsi ◽  
Gualbert Gbehounou ◽  
Josef Kienzle ◽  
Makiko Taguchi ◽  
...  

Land degradation and soil fertility deterioration are two of the main causes of agricultural production stagnation and decline in many parts of the world. The model of crop production based on mechanical soil tillage and exposed soils is typically accompanied by negative effects on the natural resource base of the farming environment, which can be so serious that they jeopardize agricultural productive potential in the future. This form of agriculture is destructive to soil health and accelerates the loss of soil by increasing its mineralization and erosion rates. Conservation agriculture, a system avoiding or minimizing soil mechanical disturbance (no-tillage) combined with soil cover and crop diversification, is considered a sustainable agro-ecological approach to resource-conserving agricultural production. A major objective of tillage is supposed to be weed control, and it does not require very specific knowledge because soil inversion controls (at least temporarily) most weeds mechanically (i.e., by way of burying them). However, repeated ploughing only changes the weed population, but does not control weeds in the long term. The same applies to the mechanical uprooting of weeds. While in the short term some tillage operations can control weeds on farms, tillage systems can increase and propagate weeds off-farm. The absence of tillage, under conservation agriculture, requires other measures of weed control. One of the ways in which this is realized is through herbicide application. However, environmental concerns, herbicide resistance and access to appropriate agro-chemicals on the part of resource-poor farmers, highlight the need for alternative weed control strategies that are effective and accessible for smallholders adopting conservation agriculture. Farmers in semi-arid regions contend with the additional challenge of low biomass production and, often, competition with livestock enterprises, which limit the potential weed-suppressing benefits of mulch and living cover crops. This paper reviews the applicability and efficacy of various mechanical, biological and integrated weed management strategies for the effective and sustainable management of weeds in smallholder conservation agriculture systems, including the role of appropriate equipment and prerequisites for smallholders within a sustainable intensification scenario.


2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Drew J. Lyon ◽  
Frank L. Young

Spring barley can be used to diversify and intensify winter wheat-based production systems in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. The objective of this study was to describe the effects of tillage system and weed management level (WML) on weed control and spring barley grain yield when grown in a winter wheat-spring barley-spring dry pea rotation. A long-term integrated pest management field study examined the effects of three WMLs (minimum, moderate, and maximum) and two tillage systems (conservation and conventional) on weed control and barley grain yield. Total weed biomass at harvest was 8.0 and 59.7 g m−2for the maximum and minimum WMLs, respectively, in the conservation tillage system, but was similar and averaged 12.2 g m−2for all three WMLs in the conventional tillage system. Despite greater weed biomass with minimum weed management in the conservation tillage system, barley grain yields averaged 5,060 and 4,780 kg ha−1for the conservation tillage and conventional tillage systems, respectively. The benefits of conservation tillage require adequate herbicide inputs.


Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Menegat ◽  
Anders T. S. Nilsson

Crop rotations dominated by winter annual crops and relying on the use of herbicides to control weeds have resulted in weed communities dominated by a few highly specialized species such as Alopecurus myosuroides. Integrated weed management (IWM) represents a sensible strategy to target such difficult weeds, through a combination of preventive, cultural, and direct means. In six field trials over three years, we tested the effect of stale seedbed preparation, winter wheat seed rate, and chemical weed control strategy on Alopecurus myosuroides control efficacy and variability in efficacy. The field experiments were carried out under reduced tillage practice and without pre-sowing use of glyphosate. Stale seedbed preparation alone reduced A. myosuroides infestation level by 25% on average. No clear effect was found of increasing winter wheat seed rate from 300 to 400 seeds m−2. A combination of stale seedbed preparation and herbicide treatment in autumn and spring was found to be synergistic, improving weed control efficacy significantly and moreover reducing the variability in control efficacy and hence the risk for weed control failure.


Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 1495
Author(s):  
Muhammad Javaid Akhter ◽  
Bo Melander ◽  
Solvejg Kopp Mathiassen ◽  
Rodrigo Labouriau ◽  
Svend Vendelbo Nielsen ◽  
...  

Vulpia myuros has become an increasing weed problem in winter cereals in Northern Europe. However, the information about V. myuros and its behavior as an arable weed is limited. Field and greenhouse experiments were conducted in 2017/18 and 2018/19, at the Department of Agroecology in Flakkebjerg, Denmark to investigate the emergence, phenological development and growth characteristics of V. myuros in monoculture and in mixture with winter wheat, in comparison to Apera spica-venti, Alopecurus myosuroides and Lolium multiflorum. V. myuros emerged earlier than A. myosuroides and A. spica-venti but later than L. multiflorum. Significant differences in phenological development were recorded among the species. Overall phenology of V. myuros was more similar to that of L. multiflorum than to A. myosuroides and A. spica-venti. V. myuros started seed shedding earlier than A. spica-venti and L. multiflorum but later than A. myosuroides. V. myuros was more sensitive to winter wheat competition in terms of biomass production and fecundity than the other species. Using a target-neighborhood design, responses of V. myuros and A. spica-venti to the increasing density of winter wheat were quantified. At early growth stages “BBCH 26–29”, V. myuros was suppressed less than A. spica-venti by winter wheat, while opposite responses were seen at later growth stages “BBCH 39–47” and “BBCH 81–90”. No significant differences in fecundity characteristics were observed between the two species in response to increasing winter wheat density. The information on the behavior of V. myuros gathered by the current study can support the development of effective integrated weed management strategies for V. myuros.


2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 151-157
Author(s):  
Raven A. Bough ◽  
Phillip Westra ◽  
Todd A. Gaines ◽  
Eric P. Westra ◽  
Scott Haley ◽  
...  

The authors discuss the importance of wheat as a global food source and describe a novel multi-institutional, public-private partnership between Colorado State University, the Colorado Wheat Research Foundation, and private chemical and seed companies that resulted in the development of a new herbicide-resistant wheat production system.


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