Linking weed patterns with soil properties: a long-term case study

Stefan Pätzold,Gerhard Welp,Dominik Dicke,Roland Gerhards,Christine Hbirkou

doi:10.1007/s11119-019-09682-6

Stefan Pätzold, Gerhard Welp + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-019-09682-6

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Abstract

The spatial distribution and density of different weed species were monitored during a long-term survey over a period of 9 years on a 5.8 ha arable field and related to soil properties. Weed seedlings were determined every year in spring on a regular grid with 429 observation points (15 × 7.5 m; net study area = 4 ha). Dominant weed species were Chenopodium album, Polygonum aviculare, Viola arvensis and different grass weeds, clearly dominated by Alopecurus myosuroides. A non-invasive electromagnetic induction survey was conducted to evaluate available water capacity directly in the field at high spatial resolution. Further soil properties were evaluated following the minimum-invasive approach with soil sampling and subsequent mid-infrared spectroscopy. Plant available nutrients were analysed with conventional lab methods. Redundancy analysis served to describe the effect of soil properties, different years and field crops on weed species variability. Seven soil properties together explained 30.7% of the spatial weed species variability, whereas 28.2% was explained by soil texture, available water capacity and soil organic carbon. Maps for site-specific weed management were created based on soil maps. These maps permit several benefits for precision crop protection, such as a better understanding of soil–weed inter-relations, improved sampling strategies and reduction in herbicide use.

Highlights

Weeds cause significant damage to crops in arable fields around the world with typical yield losses ranging between 10 and 80% (Marshall et al 2003; Oerke and Dehne 2004; Gerhards et al 2017)
A site-specific species composition and patchiness of weeds often occurs within arable fields as reviewed by Rew and Cousens (2001); this phenomenon has been the objective of many studies (e.g. Gerhards and Oebel 2006; Ritter et al 2008; Metcalfe et al 2016; Korres et al 2017)
Topsoil texture and Soil organic carbon (SOC) content were predicted with high accuracy via mid-infrared spectroscopy (MIRS)

Summary

Introduction

Weeds cause significant damage to crops in arable fields around the world with typical yield losses ranging between 10 and 80% (Marshall et al 2003; Oerke and Dehne 2004; Gerhards et al 2017). Weeds and crops compete for light, water and nutrients (Cousens and Mortimer 1995; Kobusch 2003; Ritter et al 2008) in a complex way; individual competitiveness is both crop- and weed-specific as well as site- and year-dependent (Kobusch 2003). A site-specific species composition and patchiness of weeds often occurs within arable fields as reviewed by Rew and Cousens (2001); this phenomenon has been the objective of many studies A site-specific species composition and patchiness of weeds often occurs within arable fields as reviewed by Rew and Cousens (2001); this phenomenon has been the objective of many studies (e.g. Gerhards and Oebel 2006; Ritter et al 2008; Metcalfe et al 2016; Korres et al 2017)

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