Abstract
Three on-farm research-managed trials were conducted in Settat province, Chaouia, semi-arid Morocco, from 2012-13 to 2014-15, to investigate the dynamics of germinable soil seedbank, weed density, and community composition of weeds in 3 crop rotations: continuous durum wheat, barley + pea/durum wheat/durum wheat, and canola/durum wheat/durum wheat. Initial germinable weed seedbank density estimated in September 2012, before no-till planting in November 2012 was 1890 seeds m-2. After two growing seasons, seedbank reductions were 23% in continuous durum wheat, 68% in canola/durum wheat/durum wheat, and 72% in barley + pea/durum wheat/durum wheat. In continuous durum wheat, weed densities before no-till planting were 273, 46, and 59 plants m-2 in November 2012, December 2013, and November 2014, respectively. In herbicide-free barley + pea/durum wheat/durum wheat, weed densities before no-till planting durum wheat were 128 and 42 plants m-2 in December 2013 and November 2014, respectively. In canola/durum wheat/durum wheat, weed densities before no-till planting wheat were only 20 and 25 plants m-2 in December 2013 and November 2014, respectively. This study demonstrated the combined merits of pre-plant glyphosate, herbicide use in wheat, herbicide-free barley + pea haying, and durum wheat rotation with either canola or barley + pea to manage weeds in no-till systems in semi-arid Morocco.
Highlights
Conservation agriculture (CA) is based on minimum soil disturbance, permanent soil cover, and crop rotation; it is promoted as a sustainable alternative to systems involving conventional tillage (Kassam, 2014; Loss et al., 2015; Nichols et al, 2015)
We provide results from recent 3 on-farm trials related to the combined effects of crop rotation, pre-plant glyphosate, herbicide use in wheat, and herbicide-free barley + pea mixture on the weed seedbank and weed density
This study showed that the initial soil weed seedbank was 1890 seeds m-2
Summary
Conservation agriculture (CA) is based on minimum soil disturbance, permanent soil cover, and crop rotation; it is promoted as a sustainable alternative to systems involving conventional tillage (Kassam, 2014; Loss et al., 2015; Nichols et al, 2015). CA adoption was quite low in Morocco due to a general perception that no-till farming systems require more herbicides than conventional agriculture (El Brahli & Mrabet, 2000) Such increased use of herbicides may be considered by small farmers a major problem of no-till farming in a time when the use of agrochemicals is considered by the general public as threat for human health and the environment (Friedrich, 2005). A number of CA practices designed to replace or improve continuous wheat production intend to introduce nitrogen fixing crops, reduce soil disturbance, and retain surface crop residues (Kassam, 2014). These practices should improve crop yields, reduce costs of crop production, increase soil organic matter content, and improve long-term soil health.
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