Abstract
The composition of weed communities in agricultural crops is dependent on soil properties and the applied agronomic practices. The current study determined the effect of different tillage systems and crop residue on the soil weed community composition. The research programme encompassed 2013–2015 in a long-term field experiment located in the Experimental Station of Vytautas Magnus University in Lithuania. The soil type in the experimental field was qualified as Endocalcaric Stagnosol (Aric, Drainic, Ruptic, Amphisiltic). Weeds were categorised into communities according to soil pH, nitrogen and moisture indicators. The results of investigations were grouped using cluster analysis. Agricultural crops were dominated by different weed species depending on the soil pH and moisture. Weed species were relatively more frequent indicating nitrogen-rich and very nitrogen-rich soils. In the reduced tillage and no-tillage systems, an increase in the abundance of weed species indicating moderate acidity and low acidity, moderately wet and wet, nitrogen-rich and very nitrogen-rich soils was observed. The application of plant residues decreased the weed species abundance. In the reduced tillage and no-tillage systems, the quantitative distribution of weed was often uneven. By evaluating the association of weed communities with groups of different tillage systems with or without plant residues, their control can be optimised.
Highlights
IntroductionPublisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
Agricultural crops were dominated by indifferent weed species according to the need for soil pH and moisture, and weed species more frequent in nitrogen-rich and very nitrogen-rich soils
The weeds were distributed into five communities based on their soil pH and soil nitrogen requirements and into six communities according to their soil moisture needs
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Technologies to protect the environment, soil, resources, and tillage are rapidly being adopted in modern agriculture [1]. The popularity of reduced tillage systems is increasing worldwide [2]; the increased weeds caused by reduced tillage systems are among the main obstacles to their implementation [3]. Reduced soil tillage systems cause major impacts to weed species composition and weed population densities, and the impact of tillage on different weed groups varies, unlike direct sowing that increases the incidence of perennial and annual weeds [4,5,6]
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