MANAGEMENT OF COVER CROPS FOR WEED CONTROL BETWEEN PLASTIC MULCH IN PEPPERS (CAPSICUM ANNUUM)

Field research was conducted in Deerfield, Mass. to study the effects of different cover crop species seeded between plastic mulch on weed pressure and pepper yield. A complete fertilizer was applied before plastic was laid on Sept. 13, 1991. Two cover crop treatments were seeded Sept. 13, 1991: white clover (Trifolium repens) alone and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa) in combination with winter rye (Secale cereale). On May 27, 1992 the vetch and rye were mow-killed with the biomass left on the soil surface. Annual rye (Lolium multiflorum) was then seeded on the same day as the third cover crop treatment. The remaining two treatments were a weedy check and a hand-weeded check. Peppers were transplanted into the plastic on May 31. Both the annual rye and clover were mowed three times over the course of the experiment with the biomass left between the plastic mulch. The white clover and annual rye were much more competitive with weed species than the dead mulch of vetch and rye. The three cover crop treatments had pepper yields that were severely depressed compared to the hand-weeded treatment. Among the three cover crop treatments, only the annual rye yielded more peppers than the weedy check.

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Redistribution of phosphorus in soil through cover crop roots

Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology ◽

10.1590/s1516-89132004000300007 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 47 (3) ◽

pp. 381-386 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Júlio C. Franchini ◽

Marcos A. Pavan ◽

Mário Miyazawa

Keyword(s):

Pisum Sativum ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Lupinus Albus ◽

Growth Period ◽

Soil Surface ◽

Phosphate Fertilizer ◽

Vicia Sativa ◽

Crop Species ◽

Soil P

The objective of this study was to evaluate if cover crops can absorb P from the upper layers and transport it in their roots to subsoil layers. Samples of an Oxisol were placed in PVC columns. Super phosphate fertilizer was applied to the 0-10 cm soil surface layers. The cover crops tested were: Avena strigosa, Avena sativa, Secale cereale, Pisum sativum subsp arvense, Pisum sativum, Vicia villosa, Vicia sativa, Lupinus angustifoliu, Lupinus albus, and Triticum aestivum. After a growth period of 80 days the cover crop shoots were cut off and the soil was divided into 10cm layers and the roots of each layer were washed out. The roots and shoots were analyzed separated for total P contribution to the soil. Considerable amount of P was present in the roots of cover crops. Vicia sativa contained more than 60% of total plant P in the roots. The contribution of Vicia sativa to soil P bellow the fertilized zone was about 7 kg ha-1. It thus appeared that there existed a possibility of P redistribution into the soil under no tillage by using cover crops in rotation with cash crops. Vicia sativa was the most efficient cover crop species as P carrier into the roots from superficial layer to lower layers.

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Comparison of the Allelopathic Potential of Leguminous Summer Cover Crops: Cowpea, Sunn Hemp, and Velvetbean

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.42.2.289 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 42 (2) ◽

pp. 289-293 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Michael J. Adler ◽

Carlene A. Chase

Keyword(s):

Plant Height ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Dry Weight ◽

Bell Pepper ◽

Weed Species ◽

Crop Species ◽

Allelopathic Potential ◽

Sunn Hemp ◽

Germination And Growth

The phytotoxicity of aqueous foliar extracts and ground dried residues of sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.), cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. cv. Iron Clay], and velvetbean [Mucuna deeringiana (Bort) Merr.] to crop and weed germination and growth was evaluated to compare the allelopathic potential of the cover crops. By 14 days after treatment (DAT), goosegrass [Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn.] germination with 5% aqueous extracts of all cover crops (w/v fresh weight basis) was similar and greater than 75% of control. However, with the 10% extracts, goosegrass germination was lowest with cowpea extract, intermediate with velvetbean extract, and highest with sunn hemp extract. Livid amaranth (Amaranthus lividus L.) germination declined to ≈50% with cowpea and sunn hemp extracts and even lower to 22% with velvetbean extract. The suppression of livid amaranth germination was greater with the 10% extracts than the 5% extracts. Bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) germination was unaffected by velvetbean extract, inhibited more by the 5% cowpea extract than the 10% extract, and was also sensitive to the 10% sunn hemp extract. All cover crop extracts resulted in an initial delay in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) germination, but by 14 DAT, inhibition of germination was apparent only with cowpea extract. The phytotoxicity of ground dried residues of the three cover crops on germination, plant height, and dry weight of goosegrass, smooth amaranth (A. hybridus L.), bell pepper, and tomato was evaluated in greenhouse studies. Goosegrass germination was inhibited in a similar manner by residues of the three cover crops to 80% or less of control. Smooth amaranth germination, plant height, and dry biomass were more sensitive to sunn hemp residues than to cowpea and velvetbean residues. Bell pepper germination, plant height, and dry weight were greater than 90% of control except for dry weight with cowpea residue, which was only 78% of control. The greatest effect of cover crop residue on tomato occurred with dry weight, because dry weights with cowpea and sunn hemp were only 76% and 69% of control, respectively, and lower than with velvetbean. There was more evidence of cover crop phytotoxicity with the weed species than with the crop species and cowpea extracts and residue affected all species more consistently than those of sunn hemp and velvetbean.

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In Field Measurements of Nitrogen Mineralization following Fall Applications of N and the Termination of Winter Cover Crops

Air Soil and Water Research ◽

10.4137/aswr.s13861 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. ASWR.S13861 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Corey G. Lacey ◽

Shalamar D. Armstrong

Keyword(s):

Cover Crops ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Soil Surface ◽

Inorganic N ◽

Crop Species ◽

N Application ◽

Cereal Rye ◽

And Control ◽

The Impact

Little is known about the timing and quantity of nitrogen (N) mineralization from cover crop residue following cover crop termination. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the impact of cover crop species on the return of fall applied N to the soil in the spring following chemical and winter terminations. Fall N was applied (200 kg N ha−1) into a living stand of cereal rye, tillage radish, and control (no cover crop). After chemical termination in the spring, soil samples were collected weekly and were analyzed for inorganic N (NO3-N and NH4-N) to investigate mineralization over time. Cereal rye soil inorganic N concentrations were similar to that of the control in both the spring of 2012 and 2013. Fall N application into tillage radish, cereal rye, and control plots resulted in an average 91, 57, and 66% of the fall N application rate as inorganic N in the spring at the 0-20 cm depth, respectively. The inclusion of cover crops into conventional cropping systems stabilized N at the soil surface and has the potential to improve the efficiency of fall applied N.

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Cover-Crop Species as Distinct Biotic Filters in Weed Community Assembly

Weed Science ◽

10.1614/ws-d-14-00071.1 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 63 (1) ◽

pp. 282-295 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Richard G. Smith ◽

Lesley W. Atwood ◽

Fredric W. Pollnac ◽

Nicholas D. Warren

Keyword(s):

Cover Crops ◽

Community Assembly ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Weed Species ◽

Seeding Rate ◽

Crop Species ◽

Cover Cropping ◽

Directional Filtering ◽

Weed Communities ◽

Sorghum Sudangrass

Cover crops represent a potentially important biological filter during weed community assembly in agroecosystems. This filtering could be considered directional if different cover-crop species result in weed communities with predictably different species composition. We examined the following four questions related to the potential filtering effects of cover crops in a field experiment involving five cover crops grown in monoculture and mixture: (1) Do cover crops differ in their effect on weed community composition? (2) Is competition more intense between cover crops and weeds that are in the same family or functional group? (3) Is competition more intense across weed functional types in a cover-crop mixture compared with cover crops grown in monocultures? (4) Within a cover-crop mixture, is a higher seeding rate associated with more effective biotic filtering of the weed community? We found some evidence that cover crops differentially filtered weed communities and that at least some of these filtering effects were due to differential biomass production across cover-crop species. Monocultures of buckwheat and sorghum–sudangrass reduced the number of weed species relative to the no-cover-crop control by an average of 36 and 59% (buckwheat) and 25 and 40% (sorghum–sudangrass) in 2011 and 2012, respectively. We found little evidence that competition intensity was dependent upon the family or functional classification of the cover crop or weeds, or that cover-crop mixtures were stronger assembly filters than the most effective monocultures. Although our results do not suggest that annual cover crops exert strong directional filtering during weed community assembly, our methodological framework for detecting such effects could be applied to similar future studies that incorporate a greater number of cover-crop species and are conducted under a greater range of cover-cropping conditions.

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The Effect of Cover Crops on the Yield of Spring Barley in Estonia

Agriculture ◽

10.3390/agriculture9080172 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (8) ◽

pp. 172

Author(s):

Merili Toom ◽

Sirje Tamm ◽

Liina Talgre ◽

Ilmar Tamm ◽

Ülle Tamm ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cover Crops ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Crop Production ◽

Nitrogen Availability ◽

Spring Barley ◽

Management Tool ◽

Winter Rye ◽

Hairy Vetch ◽

Hordeum Vulgare L ◽

Crop Species

Using cover crops in fallow periods of crop production is an important management tool for reducing nitrate leaching and therefore improving nitrogen availability for subsequent crops. We estimated the short-term effect of five cover crop species on the yield of successive spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) for two years in Estonia. The cover crop species used in the study were winter rye (Secale cereale L.), winter turnip rape (Brassica rapa spp. oleifera L.), forage radish (Raphanus sativus L. var. longipinnatus), hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth), and berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.). The results indicated that out of the five tested cover crops, forage radish and hairy vetch increased the yield of subsequent spring barley, whereas the other cover crops had no effect on barley yield. All cover crop species had low C:N ratios (11–17), suggesting that nitrogen (N) was available for barley early in the spring.

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A method for mechanically killing cover crops to optimize weed suppression

American Journal of Alternative Agriculture ◽

10.1017/s0889189300006408 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 157-162 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

N.G. Creamer ◽

B. Plassman ◽

M.A. Bennett ◽

R.K. Wood ◽

B.R. Stinner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cover Crops ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Crop Residues ◽

Subterranean Clover ◽

Soil Surface ◽

Weed Suppression ◽

Hairy Vetch ◽

Mechanical Method ◽

Crop Species ◽

Crimson Clover

AbstractResidues of dead cover crops can suppress weeds by providing a mulch on the soil surface. The cover crop usually is killed with herbicides, but a mechanical method is desirable in systems intended to reduce chemical use. We designed and built an undercutter to kill cover crops by severing their roots while flattening the intact aboveground biomass on the surface of raised beds. We studied which cover crop species could be killed with the undercutter and compared the weed control potential of cover crop residues after flail mowing, sicklebar mowing, and undercutting.Whether a species was killed by the undercutter depended primarily on growth stage. Species that were in mid- to late bloom or beyond, including rye, hairy vetch, bigflower vetch, crimson clover, barley, and subterranean clover, were easily killed by undercutting. There were no differences in dry weights of broadleaf weeds between the undercut and simulated sicklebar mowed treatments, both of which had less weed biomass than the clean-tilled or flail-mowed plots.

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Cover Crop Residues—Effects on Germination and Early Growth of Annual Weeds

Weed Science ◽

10.1614/ws-d-13-00117.1 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 62 (2) ◽

pp. 294-302 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Ulla M. E. Didon ◽

Anna-Karin Kolseth ◽

David Widmark ◽

Paula Persson

Keyword(s):

Root Growth ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Crop Residues ◽

Seedling Survival ◽

Early Growth ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

White Mustard ◽

Weed Species ◽

Crop Species

There is an increasing interest in the use of cover crops in agriculture, in Sweden mainly for the use as catch crops to reduce nitrogen leakage. Some of these crops are known for their allelopathic abilities, which may play a role in the control of weeds and contribute to reduced herbicide use. This study aimed to explore the possible suppressive effect of the cover crop species white mustard, fodder radish, rye, and annual ryegrass on the early growth of the weed species silky windgrass, shepherd's-purse, and scentless false mayweed. In a greenhouse experiment using fresh cover crop residues, white mustard was the only crop that showed an effect. It reduced both seedling establishment, by 51 to 73%, and biomass, by 59 to 86%, of shepherd's-purse and scentless false mayweed. In contrast, in a growth chamber experiment using frozen material, mean germination time of silky windgrass was extended by 20 to 66% by all cover crops. Also, three out of four cover crops reduced root growth in scentless false mayweed by 40 to 46%, and two out of four cover crops reduced root growth in shepherd's-purse by 13 to 61%. However, considering seedling survival, white mustard was the most prominent cover crop, reducing survival by 21 to 57% in shepherd's-purse and scentless false mayweed. In this paper we provide evidence that different weed species show different response to different cover crops under climatic conditions prevailing in Scandinavia. Such results emphasize the importance of understanding weed–cover crop interactions as necessary for developing cropping systems that can utilize cover crops to suppress local weed flora.

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Competitiveness of Three Leguminous Cover Crops with Yellow Nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus) and Smooth Pigweed (Amaranthus hybridus)

Weed Science ◽

10.1614/ws-07-044.1 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 55 (6) ◽

pp. 613-618 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Amanda S. Collins ◽

Carlene A. Chase ◽

William M. Stall ◽

Chad M. Hutchinson

Keyword(s):

Cover Crops ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Soil Surface ◽

Replacement Series ◽

Crop Species ◽

Yellow Nutsedge ◽

Cultural Measures ◽

Tuber Production ◽

Sunn Hemp ◽

Smooth Pigweed

Greenhouse replacement-series experiments were conducted to evaluate the competitiveness of cowpea, sunn hemp, and velvetbean when grown in combination with yellow nutsedge and smooth pigweed. The effect of the cover crop species on yellow nutsedge tuber production was also evaluated. Cowpea and velvetbean were equally competitive with yellow nutsedge, but sunn hemp was less competitive. Although sunn hemp height was double that of cowpea or velvetbean, photosynthetically active radiation penetrating to the soil surface was twofold to eightfold greater than with the other two species. Leaf area per plant with sunn hemp monocultures were only 63 to 70% of cowpea and 37 to 41% of velvetbean. Increasing the proportion of cover crops in crop : weed mixtures did not significantly affect nutsedge tuber number per plant or tuber weight per plant. Cowpea was more competitive than smooth pigweed, whereas both sunn hemp and velvetbean were less competitive than smooth pigweed. The utility and efficacy of leguminous cover crop species for nutsedge and smooth pigweed suppression do not appear to be due to inherent competitiveness. Until cultivars that are more competitive become available, cultural measures should be employed that enhance cover crop modification of soil environmental conditions to minimize weed seed germination and vegetative propagule sprouting.

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Occurrence of Weeds in an Orchard due to Cultivation of Long-Term Perennial Living Mulches

Acta Agrobotanica ◽

10.5586/aa.7326 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 73 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Maria Licznar-Małańczuk

Keyword(s):

White Clover ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Soil Surface ◽

Apple Orchard ◽

Research Station ◽

Weed Species ◽

Convolvulus Arvensis ◽

Perennial Weed ◽

Poaceae Family ◽

One Year

The living mulch permanence along with the succession of their weed infestation in an apple orchard were evaluated at the Research Station, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences. The perennial cover crops: white clover and colonial bent grass, as well as the annual dwarf nasturtium, were sown as living mulches in apple tree rows, in the year of establishing the orchard. Blue fescue was sown one year later to replace the dwarf nasturtium. The percent of covers and temporal dominance dynamics of weeds were estimated during the first 13 years of the orchard maintenance. The occurrence of annual weeds, which had been abundant in all the living mulches in the year of their sowing, decreased in the following years of orchard maintenance. Conversely, the dominance of several perennial weed species increased as the orchard reached the full cropping period. White clover exhibited the lowest permanence. Dynamic spreading of Elymus repens (L.) Gould and other species from the Poaceae family was the direct cause of this cover crop disappearance. The presence of perennial dicotyledonous weeds, primarily Taraxacum officinale Web. and Convolvulus arvensis L., also contributed to the diminished sod of all the living mulches. Blue fescue maintained satisfactory dominance relative to colonial bent grass for nearly the entire first decade of the research. Nevertheless, both grass living mulches were present on less than half of the tree row soil surface area, in the thirteenth year after planting of the apple trees.

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Cover crop rotation influence on nutsedge (Cyperus spp.) density and onion yield

The Journal of Agriculture of the University of Puerto Rico ◽

10.46429/jaupr.v90i3-4.1009 ◽

1969 ◽

Vol 90 (3-4) ◽

pp. 215-220

Author(s):

Nelson Semidey ◽

Luisa E. Flores-López

Keyword(s):

Cover Crops ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Soil Surface ◽

Pigeon Pea ◽

Cyperus Rotundus ◽

Plant Residue ◽

Mature Stage ◽

Plant Residues ◽

Velvet Bean ◽

Crop Species

Velvet bean [Mucuna deeringiana (Bort.) Meer.], pigeon pea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Huth], sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.] and tropical pumpkin or calabaza [Cucurbita moschata (Duchesne) Poir.] were evaluated as cover crops for the control of nutsedges in rotation with onion (Allium cepa L.) at the Lajas Agricultural Experiment Station during the years 1998-99 and 1999-2000. In each year of study, the four cover crops were grown until mature stage, and plant residue was disked or removed from soil surface before onion planting. Cover crop species had no significant influence (P < 0.05) on nutsedge density, mainly represented by Cyperus rotundus L. and C. esculentus L., neither six weeks before onion planting nor after nine weeks of cropping during 1998-99. Disc incorporation of all cover crops suppressed nutsedge density more than removal of plant residues from soil surface. Onion produced greater yield (30,030 kg/ha) after calabaza rotation than after pigeon pea (21,090 kg/ha) or sorghum (18,940 kg/ha) in 1998-99. In 1999-2000, plots grown with velvet bean, pigeon pea and calabaza had less nutsedge than the untreated controls two weeks before incorporation of plant residues. Plots with these three cover crops also had lower density of nutsedges than plots with sorghum. Nutsedge density was not significant at three, six, and 10 weeks after onion planting. In 1999-2000, onion yields among cover crop rotations were not significantly different, with an average of 5,837 kg/ha. Cover crop allelopathy, as well as nutsedge interference, may have reduced onion production during the second year of planting.

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