Abstract
AbstractField experiments were conducted in the growing seasons of 2017 to 2018 and 2018 to 2019 to evaluate the competitive effects of rattail fescue [Vulpia myuros (L.) C.C. Gmel.] in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and to assess whether delayed crop sowing and increased crop density influence the emergence, competitiveness, and fecundity of V. myuros. Cumulative emergence showed the potential of V. myuros to emerge rapidly and under a wide range of climatic conditions with no effect of crop density and variable effects of sowing time between the two experiments. Grain yield and yield components were negatively affected by increasing V. myuros density. The relationship between grain yield and V. myuros density was not influenced by sowing time or by crop density, but crop–weed competition was strongly influenced by growing conditions. Due to very different weather conditions, grain yield reductions were lower in the growing season of 2017 to 2018 than in 2018 to 2019, with maximum grain yield losses of 22% and 50% in the two growing seasons, respectively. The yield components, number of crop ears per square meter, and 1,000-kernel weight were affected almost equally, reflecting that V. myuros’s competition with winter wheat occurred both early and late in the growing season. Seed production of V. myuros was suppressed by delaying sowing and increasing crop density. The impacts of delayed sowing and increasing crop density on seed production of V. myuros highlight the potential of these cultural weed control tactics in the long-term management programs of this species.
Highlights
IntroductionRattail fescue [Vulpia myuros (L.) C.C. Gmel.] is an emerging weed problem in Europe, where it is troublesome in winter annual crops
In Denmark, problems with V. myuros have increased significantly since it was first reported in red fescue (Festuca rubra L.) for seed production in the late 1990s (Mathiassen and Kudsk 2010)
Seeds of V. myuros were collected from a winter wheat field near the experimental site in July 2017; seed samples were stored in paper bags at 4 C in the dark until experiments were initiated in October 2017 and September 2018
Summary
Rattail fescue [Vulpia myuros (L.) C.C. Gmel.] is an emerging weed problem in Europe, where it is troublesome in winter annual crops. In Denmark, problems with V. myuros have increased significantly since it was first reported in red fescue (Festuca rubra L.) for seed production in the late 1990s (Mathiassen and Kudsk 2010). A survey focusing on V. myuros occurrence in red fescue seed samples received by seed companies from growers revealed a frequent occurrence of V. myuros in some regions of Denmark (Jensen and Kristensen 2013). Non-inversion tillage practices, combined with frequent cropping of winter cereals, can promote V. myuros infestations in Denmark (Scherner et al 2016). Problems with V. myuros have been reported in other European countries, for example, in the United Kingdom and Romania (Georgescu et al 2016; Hull et al 2011)
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