Effect of Living or Straw Mulch on Weed Management and Soil Quality in Grape Vineyards

Sustainable strawberry production depends on effective weed and soil management. Alternative weed management strategies are needed because few herbicides are registered for use in matted-row strawberry culture. Soil analyses are often measured in terms of chemical and physical properties alone. Measuring biological indicators of soil quality that are sensitive to changes in the environment can enhance these analyses. The experiment compared the effects of four weed management systems on weed growth, soil quality properties, and strawberry yield, growth, and development. Treatments were killed-cover crop mixture of hairy vetch (Viciavillosa) and cereal rye (Secalecereale); compost + corn gluten meal + straw mulch; conventional herbicide; and methyl bromide soil fumigation. Results indicated that there were no differences in percentage of weed cover or number of strawberry runners between the four weed management treatments in the planting year (July or Aug. 2004). The soil quality parameters, infiltration rate, soil bulk density, earthworm number, and total porosity were similar for all treatments. Plots that received the straw mulch treatment had a soil volumetric water content 20% higher and air-filled porosity that was 26% higher than the average of other treatments. Although treatment plots received similar N, leaf nutrient analysis showed that plants receiving the straw mulch + corn gluten meal treatment had a similar amount of total N when compared to the conventional and methyl bromide treatments, but was 21% higher than the killed-cover crop treatment.

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Labile carbon and other soil quality indicators in two tillage systems during transition to organic agriculture

Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems ◽

10.1017/s1742170511000147 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 26 (4) ◽

pp. 342-353 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

David Bruce Lewis ◽

Jason P. Kaye ◽

Randa Jabbour ◽

Mary E. Barbercheck

Keyword(s):

Soil Quality ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Organic Agriculture ◽

Weed Management ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Transition Period ◽

Interactive Effects ◽

Labile Carbon ◽

Initial Field ◽

Soil Attributes

AbstractWeed management is one of the primary challenges for producers transitioning from conventional to organic agriculture. Tillage and the use of cover crops are two weed control tactics available to farmers transitioning to organic management, but little is known about their interactive effects on soil quality during the transition period. We investigated the response of soils to tillage and initial cover crop during the 3-year transition to organic in a cover crop–soybean (Glycine max)–maize (Zea mays) rotation in the Mid-Atlantic region of the USA. The tillage treatment contrasted full, inversion tillage with moldboard plowing (FT) versus reduced tillage with chisel plowing (RT). The cover crop treatment contrasted annual versus mostly perennial species during the first year of the rotation. The experiment was initiated twice (Start 1 and Start 2), in consecutive years in adjacent fields. By the end of the experiment, labile carbon, electrical conductivity, pH and soil moisture were all greater under RT than under FT in both starts. Soil organic matter and several other soil attributes were greater under RT than under FT in Start 1, but not in Start 2, perhaps owing to differences between starts in initial field conditions and realized weather. Soil attributes did not differ between the two cover crop treatments. Combining our soils results with agronomic and economic analyses on these plots suggests that using RT during the organic transition can increase soil quality without compromising yield and profitability.

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An online decision support tool to evaluate ecological weed management strategies

Weed Science ◽

10.1017/wsc.2019.21 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 67 (4) ◽

pp. 463-473

Author(s):

Douglas Bessette ◽

Robyn Wilson ◽

Christian Beaudrie ◽

Clayton Schroeder

Keyword(s):

Decision Support ◽

Soil Quality ◽

Weed Management ◽

Decision Support Tool ◽

The United States ◽

Support Tool ◽

Organic Farmers ◽

Ecological Weed Management ◽

On Farm

AbstractWeeds remain the most commonly cited concern of organic farmers. Without the benefit of synthetic herbicides, organic farmers must rely on a host of ecological weed management (EWM) practices to control weeds. Despite EWM’s ability to improve soil quality, the perceived rate of integrated EWM strategy adoption remains low. This low adoption is likely a result of the complexity in designing and evaluating EWM strategies, the tendency for outreach to focus on the risks of EWM strategies rather than their benefits, and a lack of quantitative measures linking the performance of EWM strategies to farmers’ on-farm objectives and practices. Here we report on the development and deployment of an easy-to-use online decision support tool (DST) that aids organic farmers in identifying their on-farm objectives, characterizing the performance of their practices, and evaluating EWM strategies recommended by an expert advisory panel. Informed by the principles of structured decision making, the DST uses multiple choice tasks to help farmers evaluate the short- and long-term trade-offs of EWM strategies, while also focusing their attention on their most important objectives. We then invited organic farmers across the United States, in particular those whose email addresses were registered on the USDA’s Organic Research Integrity Database, to engage the DST online. Results show considerable movement in participants’ (n = 45) preferences from practices focused on reducing weeding costs and labor in the short term to EWM strategies focused on improving soil quality in the long term. Indeed, nearly half of those farmers (48%) who initially ranked a strategy composed of their current practices highest ultimately preferred a better-performing EWM strategy focused on eliminating the weed seedbank over 5 yr.

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Comparison of Weed Suppression and Mandarin Fruit Yield and Quality Obtained with Organic Mulches, Synthetic Mulches, Cultivation, and Glyphosate

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.43.3.795 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 43 (3) ◽

pp. 795-799 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

H.F. Abouziena ◽

O.M. Hafez ◽

I.M. El-Metwally ◽

S.D. Sharma ◽

M. Singh

Keyword(s):

Rice Straw ◽

Fruit Quality ◽

Weed Management ◽

Crop Production ◽

Fruit Yield ◽

Weed Suppression ◽

Soluble Solids ◽

Residual Effects ◽

Plastic Mulch ◽

Straw Mulch

Organic crop production, whether for export or local consumption, is increasing to avoid the residual effects of synthetic herbicides in foods, soil, and water, toxicity to other nontarget organisms, and herbicide-resistant weed populations. Organic farmers consistently ranked weed management as one of their most important production problems. Therefore, a 2-year study was conducted under 15-year-old mandarin trees to compare the effects of rice straw mulch, cattail mulch, black plastic mulch, hand hoeing, cultivation, glyphosate, and unweeded control treatments on weed control, fruit yield, and fruit quality. The greatest control (94%–100%) of weeds occurred with the plastic mulch (200 or 150 μm) and three mulch layers of rice straw or cattail. Covering soil with cattail or rice straw mulch (two layers) gave 85% to 98% control of weeds. Uncontrolled weeds in the weedy control caused significant reduction in yield and fruit quality and decreased the yield/tree by 62% compared with hand hoe treatment. Plastic mulches of 200 and 150 μm, cattail (Cyprus articulatus L.) mulch (two or three layers) and two mulch layers of rice (Oryza sativa L.) straw treatments significantly increased the fruit yield/tree by 24%, 18%, 20%, 11%, and 12% more than cultivation treatment, respectively, without significant differences among these superior treatments. Soil mulching with three layers of rice straw, cultivation, glyphosate, and 80-μm plastic mulch treatments caused a significant reduction in weed density and weed biomass, but gave lower yield than superior treatments. Total soluble solids of fruits was unaffected by any of the weed management strategies, whereas values of total acidity and vitamin C were significantly lower in the unwedded control than most weeded treatments. These results demonstrate that two layers of cattail or rice straw mulch could be used effectively for controlling weeds in citrus groves. Their effectiveness in controlling weeds may increase their use in agriculture systems with a concomitant decrease in the need for synthetic herbicides. Further studies are needed to evaluate their side effects on beneficial organisms, diseases, and insects.

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Improving Soil Quality: Inplications for Weed Management

Expanding the Context of Weed Management ◽

10.1201/9781003075202-6 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 95-121

Author(s):

Eric R. Gallandt ◽

Matt Liebman ◽

David R. Huggins

Keyword(s):

Soil Quality ◽

Weed Management

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Enhanced yields and soil quality in a wheat-maize rotation using buried straw mulch

Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture ◽

10.1002/jsfa.8183 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 97 (10) ◽

pp. 3333-3341 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Zhibin Guo ◽

Hui Liu ◽

Shuixia Wan ◽

Keke Hua ◽

Chaoqiang Jiang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Quality ◽

Straw Mulch

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Weed Management in Common Cottonwood (Populus deltoides) Nursery Plantation

Weed Technology ◽

10.1017/wet.2017.112 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 32 (3) ◽

pp. 284-289

Author(s):

H. Kaur ◽

Navneet Kaur ◽

R. I. S. Gill ◽

Makhan S. Bhullar ◽

A. Singh

Keyword(s):

Weed Control ◽

Weed Management ◽

Populus Deltoides ◽

Agroforestry System ◽

Stem Cuttings ◽

Plastic Mulch ◽

Paddy Straw ◽

Straw Mulch ◽

Hand Weeding ◽

Density And Biomass

AbstractCommon cottonwood-based agroforestry system is widely adopted in Indian Indo-Gangetic plains. The stem cuttings of common cottonwood are raised in a nursery 10 to 12 months in rows spaced 0.5 mx0.5 m, before re-planting in the field. The longer duration of 10 to 12 months and wider spacing of stem cuttings in the nursery makes the entire transplants highly vulnerable to weed competition, especially during early establishment stages. The efficacy of preemergence herbicides and plastic and straw mulches for weed management in common cottonwood nursery was investigated at two sites in years 2014 and 2015. The major weed flora in the experimental field consisted of three grass weeds (crowfootgrass, feather lovegrass, and southern crabgrass), and four broadleaf weeds (scarlet pimpernel, garden spurge, niruri, and lesser swinecress). The integrated use of pendimethalin or alachlor applied PRE with paddy straw mulch significantly reduced density and biomass of both grass and broadleaf weeds compared to herbicide or straw mulch used alone, and provided similar level of weed control to hand weeding at both locations. Spreading of plastic mulch in the whole field after punching holes for common cottonwood stem cuttings, or in row spaces recorded similar weed control to hand-weeding. The integrated use of herbicides with straw mulch, and or plastic mulch alone significantly improved plant height, stem diameter, below- and above-ground biomass of common cottonwood plants compared to unweeded check. The study concluded that integrated use of herbicides plus paddy straw mulch or plastic mulch alone could be adopted for weed management in common cottonwood nursery plantations.

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Sustainable Weed Management Systems to Improve Soil Quality in Midwest Viticulture

10.31274/farmprogressreports-180814-734 ◽

2006 ◽

Author(s):

Craig A. Dilley ◽

Gail R. Nonnecke

Keyword(s):

Soil Quality ◽

Weed Management ◽

Management Systems

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Influence of straw mulch application on the properties of a soil affected by a forest wildfire

Spanish Journal of Soil Science ◽

10.3232/sjss.2015.v5.n1.03 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

Author(s):

Alba Lombao ◽

Montserrat Díaz Raviña ◽

Ángela Martín ◽

Ana Barreiro ◽

María Teresa Fontúrbel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Properties ◽

Soil Quality ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Water Soluble ◽

Soluble Carbohydrates ◽

Microbial Biomass C ◽

Total N ◽

Straw Mulch ◽

Wide Range ◽

A Minor

Mulching treatment is often recommended <ins cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T16:22">in order </ins>to reduce post-fire erosion and sediment<del cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T15:45"></del> yields<ins cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T15:45">,</ins> but information concerning their effects on soil properties and hence on soil quality is scarce. In the present investigation<ins cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T16:22">,</ins> the influence of straw application on soil quality was evaluated <ins cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T16:22">on</ins><del cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T16:22"></del><del cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T15:46"> </del>hillslope shrubland <del cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T15:46"></del>in Saviñao (Lugo, NW Spain)<ins cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T15:47"> </ins><del cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T15:47"></del><del cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T15:46"></del><ins cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T15:46">th</ins><ins cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T16:02">a</ins><ins cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T15:46">t is </ins>susceptible to <del cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T15:46"></del>post-fire erosion (38% slope). In this area, <ins cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T16:04">which was </ins>affected by a medium-high severity wildfire in September 2012, different treatments with wheat straw <ins cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T16:03">were </ins>applied to the burnt soil in mulch strips (0.8 and 1 Mg ha-1) <del cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T16:03"></del><del cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T15:50"></del><ins cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T15:50">using </ins>quadruplicate <ins cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T15:51">10 m x 40 m </ins><ins cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T15:49">plots </ins><del cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T15:51"></del><del cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T15:49"></del>and compared with the corresponding burnt untreated control. Soil samples were collected from the A horizon (0-2.5 cm depth) at different sampling times <del cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T17:15"></del><ins cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T17:15">for 12 months</ins> after the wildfire<del cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T16:03"></del><ins cite="mailto:Michele%20Francis" datetime="2015-01-23T15:48">,</ins> and a wide range of physicochemical, chemical and biochemical soil properties (water retention, pH, electric conductivity, total C, 13C, extractable C, water soluble C, soluble carbohydrates, total N, 15N, microbial biomass C, soil respiration, bacterial activity, b-glucosidase, urease and phosphatase activities) were analyzed. The results showed that the application of straw mulch had a minor influence on the post-fire soil quality but, in contrast, the sampling time showed a significant influence attributed to short- and medium term changes in soil properties induced by both fire and climatic conditions.

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