Decline of Weed Seeds and Seedling Emergence Over Five Years as Affected by Soil Disturbances

Abstract

Weed emergence and viable weed seed numbers were determined in field plots during a 5-yr period where reseeding was prevented. Known numbers of seeds of seven weed species were added to the native seed population at the beginning of the study. Plots were nontilled or tilled to depths of 0, 5, 10, and 15 cm early in the spring of each year. Velvetleaf, spurred anoda, hemp sesbania, morningglory species, and pigweed species emergence was significantly greater from the nontilled plots during the first year after seeds were added to the native seed population. Tillage, regardless of depth, reduced weed emergence during the first year where seeds were added to the plots but had no effect on emergence from plots where no seeds were added. Tillage during the second through the fifth year did not affect emergence regardless of the addition of seeds. of the 5-yr emergence totals, 61 to 88% of all weeds in all plots emerged during the first year and 9 to 23% emerged during the second year. The 5-yr decline rate for emergence of all weeds was exponential. Viable seeds of prickly sida, spurges, and pigweeds in the nontilled plots declined from 590, 1531, and 4346 m−2, respectively, to zero by the third year. Tillage did not affect the decline. However, weed emergence in the field indicated that a few (1.0 to 5.6 m−2) seeds of those weeds were still viable after 3 yr. In nontilled plots, many recently added seeds were on or near the soil surface and germinated during the first year. Tillage moved many seeds to sites that were unfavorable for germination and emergence during the first year.