Seedbank and Emerged Annual Weed Populations in Cornfields (Zea mays) in Colorado

Abstract

Fifty irrigated cornfields in five eastern Colorado counties were sampled for their seedbanks and annual weed seedlings and mature populations between 1988 and 1992. Fourteen annual broadleaf species and seven annual grass species were identified in the 50 seedbanks sampled after the fields were tilled in the fall. Redroot pigweed and a mixture of green and yellow foxtail were the weed species encountered most, occurring in 90 and 54% of the fields, respectively. The single-plant populations of broadleaf and grass species in June and September were similar to those observed in the seedbanks. The number of weed species as seeds in the seedbank, June seedlings, and September plants per field ranged from zero to five grass species and zero to eight broadleaf species.