Abstract
The aim of the study was to evaluate the occurrence and development of weed species as actual weed infestation of maize in sustainable farming systems. The specific goals of the study were to assess the dynamics of occurrence of each weed species in integrated and ecological farming systems, and to evaluate the impact of farming system, manure or fertiliser application and year on the presence of weeds in maize stands from 2014 to 2016. In the integrated non-fertilised maize cropping system, the following weed species were dominant in the spring: Amaranthus retroflexus, Cirsium arvense, Chenopodium album, Persicaria maculosa and Echinochloa crus galli. In the integrated fertilised maize cropping system, the following weed species were dominant in the spring: Amaranthus retroflexus, Chenopodium album, Cirsium arvense, Echinochloa crus galli, Convolvulus arvensis and Cardaria draba. In the integrated maize cropping system, Silybum marianum occurred as a weed at medium density. Silybum marianum was cultivated two years ago and its seeds were in a state of dormancy for that time. The efficacy of the herbicide treatment in the integrated system was excellent. In the ecological non-fertilised maize cropping system, the following weed species were dominant in the spring: Amaranthus retroflexus, Chenopodium album, Cirsium arvense, Avena fatua and Sonchus oleraceus. In the ecological fertilised maize cropping system, the following weed species were dominant in the spring: Amaranthus retroflexus, Chenopodium album, Echinochloa crus galli, Avena fatua, Persicaria maculosa, Cirsium arvense and Convolvulus arvensis. In the ecological farming system, due to insufficient mechanical weed control, a higher level of maize infestation with Avena fatua as an annual grass weed species was detected.
Highlights
Weed infestation is one of the critical factors limiting the productivity of maize under field conditions (Saleem et al, 2015). Pannacci (2016) observed that weed control has a major effect on the success of maize growth, because the competition ability of maize is relatively low at early crop growth stages
In the integrated farming system, herbicides were used for weed control at the stage of 4 to 5 leaves of maize according to actual weed infestation
In the integrated non-fertilised system of maize cropping, the following weed species were dominant in the spring: Amaranthus retroflexus, Cirsium arvense, Chenopodium album, Persicaria maculosa, and Echinochloa crus galli
Summary
Weed infestation is one of the critical factors limiting the productivity of maize under field conditions (Saleem et al, 2015). Pannacci (2016) observed that weed control has a major effect on the success of maize growth, because the competition ability of maize is relatively low at early crop growth stages. Pannacci (2016) observed that weed control has a major effect on the success of maize growth, because the competition ability of maize is relatively low at early crop growth stages. Weed control in maize largely depends on chemical methods. A high input of herbicides results in environmental pollution, risks of residue carry-over and the development of weed resistance (Pannacci, 2016). In Hossard et al (2015), organic and low-input systems are proposed as ways to reduce the environmental impacts of agriculture. Previous studies have shown that yields of organic systems can be ∼19 to 25% lower than conventional systems. Low-input system could be less damaging for the environment than conventional systems, while reducing yield losses in comparison with organic systems. Pesticide use was greatly reduced in low-input systems as compared with conventional ones by 50% for maize
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