Abstract
The aim of this 3-year field study was to evaluate the effect of some stubble crops and in-crop weed control methods on the species composition, number and air-dry weight of weeds in a wheat crop grown in short-term monoculture. The study was conducted in the period 2009-2011 in the Uhrusk Experimental Farm on mixed rendzina soil classified as very good rye soil complex. It included various types of stubble crops ploughed in each year (control treatment without cover crop, white mustard, lacy phacelia, a mixture of legumes – narrow-leaf lupin + field pea) and methods of weed control in spring wheat (mechanical, mechanical and chemical, chemical weed control). On average during the study period, all stubble crops used reduced the air-dry weight of weds in the treatments with mechanical weed management relative to the control treatment. Irrespective of the weed control method, the number of weeds in the wheat crop was significantly lower only after the ploughing in of white mustard. Mechanical weed management proved to be less effective in reducing the number and dry weight of weeds compared to other weed control methods. The white mustard and legume mixture cover crops had a reducing effect on the number of weed species in relation to the treatment without cover crops. The highest floristic diversity of weed communities was found in the spring wheat crop in which only mechanical weeding alone was used.
Highlights
The percentage of cereals in the crop structure is more than 70% and, as a result of that, they are often grown in the same field year after year
Wojciechowski (2009) showed that after the ploughing in of white mustard the number of weeds in a spring wheat crop remained at a similar level as in the treatment without cover crops
This author’s study demonstrated that a mixture of legumes with oats had a beneficial effect on reducing weed infestation of the succeeding crop; after the ploughing in of the legume crop, the number of weeds was lower by 11.4% compared to the treatment without cover crop and lower by 16.6% than that found after the ploughing in of white mustard
Summary
The percentage of cereals in the crop structure is more than 70% and, as a result of that, they are often grown in the same field year after year. Dense cover crops reduce weed infestation (Teasdale et al 1991; Hauggaard - Nielsen et al 2001; Gawęda , 2009) and affect the soil and the succeeding crop through the secretion of biologically active substances and compounds that are released during the decomposition of cover crop biomass. This applies in particular to species of the family Brassicacae which contain chemical compounds inhibiting seed germination of other plants and subsequently their growth, and which can be used to reduce weed infestation. The ploughing in of cover crop biomass has proved to be a more beneficial method for counteracting the negative effects of continuous cereal cropping
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