Abstract
Weeds pose a major threat to world agriculture by reducing detrimentally crop yield and quality. However, at the same time, weeds are major interacting components of the agroecosystems. Abundance and diversity of weeds vary significantly among the several communities. In order to evaluate each community’s structure and the interactions among them, several population indices are used as key tools. In parallel, various cultivation and land management strategies, such as tillage and fertilization, are commonly used in terms of integrated weed management. Estimating the response of weed species on those practices is crucial for both biodiversity maintenance and alternative weed control methods. Many experiments have confirmed the fundamental role of tillage intensity and nutrition supply in weed species’ abundance and diversity. For instance, in some studies, the abundance of perennial weeds was doubled under reduced tillage intensity. In addition, higher values of Shannon-Weiner and Pielou indices were reported in the PK fertilization treatment compared to the control and NK fertilization treatments. The objective of this paper is to provide a brief overview of the key results of these experiments and summarize the part of the literature related to the effect of tillage systems and fertilization on weed species abundance and diversity. Such knowledge could contribute to the sound design and implementation of integrated weed management programs which in turn may lead to a decrease in the density of serious and noxious weeds and an increase in the overall balance of agroecosystems.
Highlights
Since the beginning of crop production weeds have represented a serious constraint to worldwide agriculture, as when left uncontrolled they can cause over 80% yield loss (Cousens and Mortimer, 1995)
Counter results were found by Shrestha et al (2002), revealing higher weed densities in the conventional tillage than in the no-tillage systems, while in other studies perennial weeds and overwintering weed species increased with reduced tillage compared to plowing in autumn or spring (Tørresen et al, 2003)
Weed community composition and structure can be greatly influenced by different management practices, such as tillage, and fertilization
Summary
Since the beginning of crop production weeds have represented a serious constraint to worldwide agriculture, as when left uncontrolled they can cause over 80% yield loss (Cousens and Mortimer, 1995). Agricultural practice has demonstrated that the basic principles of integrated management used for insect control ought to be adopted for weed control (Labrada, 2003). Opposed to more pest management tactics, establishing integrated weed management programs focused on diverse weed species with different life history attributes can be complicated. Stable systems that stand in need of ecological awareness outside the scope of individual species are deemed necessary (Mortensen et al, 2000)
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