Effects of selective cutting and timing of herbicide application on growth and development of Cirsium arvense in spring barley

Abstract

SummaryRecently, a new implement for controlling weeds in cereals (CombCut) has been developed. It cuts weeds in growing cereals without damaging them by using the physical differences (in height, stem thickness, straw stiffness and branching pattern) between crops and weeds. To evaluate and compare the effects of selective cutting with different timings of herbicide application on Cirsium arvense in spring barley, a randomised block experiment was conducted in Sweden in 2015–2017, in a field with a naturally occurring C. arvense population. Treatments consisted of control (C), herbicide application at 4–5‐leaf stage of C. arvense (H1), herbicide application at 8–10‐leaf stage (H2) and selective cutting at 10‐leaf stage (S). The treatments were performed in 2015 and repeated in 2016 in the same plots, and a final evaluation was performed in 2017. Compared to the control, S, H1 and H2 were equally efficient in reducing above‐ground biomass production of C. arvense and increasing spring barley grain yield per unit area. The number of C. arvense shoots per area was, however, higher in S compared to H1 and H2. No differences in control effects on shoot number were observed between H1 and H2. Our study indicates that (i) selective cutting (S) reduces C. arvense equally efficient as herbicide application and (ii) early herbicide spraying is as efficient as spraying later in the season.