Abstract
Intermediate wheatgrass (IWG) may benefit soil fertility in crop rotations. To investigate termination strategies, i.e., autumn ploughing (AP), autumn harrowing (AH) and spring harrowing (SH) on a five-year-old IWG stand, a pilot study was performed. After the treatments, beetroots were sown and the IWG plants were counted twice during the beetroot growing season. The number of IWG plants was highest (20) after the SH strategy, intermediate (14) after the AH, and lowest (3) after the conventional termination strategy, AP. After the first plant count, the plots were subject to mechanical weeding in the form of a stale seedbed (i.e., harrowing twice before sowing). At beetroot harvest, the number of IWG plants was low (3 in SH and AH, 0 in AP) and similar between the treatments. The beetroot production was highest after AP and lowest in SH, and intermediary in AH, which showed no difference from AP and SH. At beetroot harvest, the weed biomass did not differ between the termination strategies. The weeds were mainly annuals. There were no differences in soil bulk density between termination strategies. Our results show that shallow soil tillage is enough to terminate IWG, as long as it repeated. We suggest further studies that investigate the dynamics of crop sequences with IWG, and how to benefit from this crop in rotations.
Highlights
Perennial cereals, grain legumes and oilseed species represent a paradigm shift in agriculture and have the potential to contribute to increased sustainability of production systems [1]
Weed management in organic production mainly relies on mechanical soil perturbation, where the creation of a false seedbed distorts the weeds before the establishment of the main crop [13], while row harrowing controls the weeds in the already established crops [14]
Our results show that a deeper cultivation strategy is initially more successful at terminating a stand of intermediate wheatgrass (IWG)
Summary
Grain legumes and oilseed species represent a paradigm shift in agriculture and have the potential to contribute to increased sustainability of production systems [1]. A perennial cereal grain crop, such as intermediate wheatgrass (IWG; Thinopyrum intermedium), has been proven to contribute to decreased nitrogen leaching [2]. The perennial component is essential in its function as a sanitation crop, breaking the life cycle of weeds [5], and contributes to the build-up of soil fertility and quality [6]. The ley crops are commonly the perennial component in organic crop rotations, and here the IWG crop may provide an alternative with its additional service to produce human-consumable seeds. Ploughing can have positive effects on soil structure but negative effects on soil organic matter content [9], active soil microbial biomass [10], earthworm occurrence [11], and the fertility and quality of the soil [12]. Weed management in organic production mainly relies on mechanical soil perturbation, where the creation of a false seedbed distorts the weeds before the establishment of the main crop [13], while row harrowing controls the weeds in the already established crops [14]
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