Vertical distribution and composition of weed seeds within the plough layer after eleven years of contrasting crop rotation and tillage schemes

Abstract

Tillage methods and crop rotation are probably the two most important cropping factors affecting weed communities, particularly when herbicide use is restricted. This study examined weed dynamics following eleven years of different tillage and crop rotation treatments. The aboveground grass weed flora was recorded each year and the content and vertical location of individual weed seeds within the plough layer (0–20cm) were determined after 11 years of continuous mouldboard ploughing (P), pre-sowing tine cultivation to 8–10cm soil depth (H8-10) and direct drilling (D). The content of weed seeds, especially grass weeds, was determined for three distinct soil layers (0–5, 5–10 and 10–20cm), reflecting the cultivation depths of the tillage treatments. The annual grass weeds, Apera spica-venti and Vulpia myuros, were promoted by non-inversion tillage and in the case of V. myuros also by frequent cropping of winter cereals. The two non-inversion tillage treatments caused a strong stratification of weed seeds within the plough layer, with the majority of the seeds being accumulated in the upper soil layers, at 0–5 and 5–10cm, and markedly less so in the 10–20cm layer. Ploughing resulted in a more even distribution between the three layers. It is suggested that in cases where severe grass weed problems have built up in a non-inversion tillage system and where changes in crop rotation are ineffective or undesirable, inversion of the upper soil layer with the lower one could be considered a management option.