Weed control in conservation agriculture systems of Zimbabwe: Identifying economical best strategies

Weed management under conservation agriculture (CA), especially when manually controlled is one of the major setbacks for the widespread adoption of CA in southern Africa. This study was conducted at three on-station and three on-farm sites: CIMMYT-Harare, Domboshawa Training Centre and Henderson Research Station (on-station sites), Hereford farm, Madziva communal area and Shamva communal area (on-farm sites). The evaluation focused on the effect of initial herbicide application and succeeding manual weeding whenever weeds were 10 cm tall or 10 cm in length for grasses with stoloniferous–rhizomatous growth habit. Weeds counts, weeding time and grain yields were collected at all on-station sites. At the on-farm sites, weed counts were done before weeding and a number of farmers were timed during weeding. The results showed that herbicides use reduced the weed density and time taken on weeding at all sites. Combining herbicides e.g. atrazine, glyphosate and metalachlor had the lowest weed density and weeding time at all sites. However, the treatments had no effect on maize grain yields suggesting that appropriate and timely manual weeding reduced crop/weed competition. Herbicides treatments had higher input costs than manual weeding due to the additional cost of herbicide but the treatment with manual weeding only had more overall labour days compared to the mixture of three herbicides. In order to achieve economic benefits, smallholder farmers may use the time for value addition e.g. expand cropped land area, use time for value addition, or sell new products on the market. Herbicides use reduces the manual labour needed to control weeds and minimise total crop failure due to untimely weeding hence, herbicides are an important but not the only weed control option under CA systems in Zimbabwe.     

A model to simulate yield losses in winter wheat caused by weeds,for use in a weed management decision support system

The ‘within-season’ module of the Weed Manager decision support system (DSS) predicts the effect of twelve UK arable weeds on winter wheat yields and profitability. The model and decision algorithm that underpin the DSS are described and their performance discussed. The model comprises: (i) seedling germination and emergence, (ii) early growth, (iii) phenological development, (iv) herbicide and cultivation effects and (v) crop yield loss. Crop and weed emergence are predicted from the timing and method of cultivation, species biology, and the weather. Wheat and weeds compete for resources, and yield losses are predicted from their relative leaf area at canopy closure. Herbicides and cultural control methods reduce weed green area index, improving crop yield. A decision algorithm identifies economically successful weed management strategies based on model output. The output of the Weed Manager model and decision algorithm was extensively validated by experts, who confirmed the predicted responses to herbicide application were sufficiently accurate for practical use. Limited independent data were also used in the validation. The development of the module required integrating novel and existing approaches for simulating weed seedling establishment, plant development and decision algorithm design. Combining these within Weed Manager created a framework suitable for commercial use.     

Sustainable weed management in conservation agriculture

Sustainable crop production is necessary to ensure global food security and environmental safety. Conservation agriculture (CA) is gaining popularity around the globe due to its sustainable approaches such as permanent soil cover, minimal soil disturbance, planned crop rotations and integrated weed management. Weed control is the biggest challenge to CA adoption. Weed ecology and management is different in CA than in conventional agriculture. In CA, weeds expression, seed bank status, distribution, dispersal mechanisms, diversification, growing patterns and competition trends are complex and differ from conventional systems. It is due to reduced tillage of the soil and the flora that thrives in CA. Reduced tillage systems affect the efficacy of herbicides and mechanical weed control measures. So, it is an important task to find out the differences and to fabricate new management options. In this review, changing weed dynamics have been framed. A novel aspect of this review is the comprehensive account of sustainable weed management strategies in relation to CA. Modified tillage operations, improved cultural practices, bioherbicides, chemical herbicides, allelopathy, and crop nutrition have been identified as suitable weed management tools. None of these offers complete control but the integration of these tools in suitable combinations works efficiently. Weeds dominating CA and their responses to CA components are highlighted. For example, small seeded and perennial weeds are more abundant in CA. The role of herbicide resistance in weeds and herbicide tolerant (HT) crops in CA is also highlighted. Allelopathy and crop nutrition are discussed as modern weed management tools for CA. A detailed account of weed responses to fertilizer management options is also given. Integrated weed management compatible to cropping patterns and climatic conditions offers the best results in CA. Future efforts must be directed towards the optimization and integration of these weed management practices.     

Weed management in aerobic rice systems

Aerobic rice systems can substitute the conventional rice cultivation system in the wake of water shortage and energy crises. The major constraint in the success of aerobic rice is high weed infestation. Hence, we have discussed the weed flora, yield losses, herbicide-resistant weeds, need for integrated weed management, and approaches to manage weeds in aerobic rice systems. A review of several studies indicated that 90 weed species were competing with rice under aerobic systems, causing 23–100% reductions in grain yield. Weed control in aerobic rice gets difficult due to shifts in weed flora and herbicide resistance development in weeds. A wide increase in grain yield (15–307%) by implementing different weed control practices elaborates the scope of weed management in aerobic rice. Practices, such as soil solarization, sowing of competitive crop cultivars, stale seedbed preparation, mulch application, correct fertilization, and intercropping, were found to have particular significance for managing weeds in aerobic rice systems. Moreover, hand weeding and mechanical control were more effective when combined with other weed control methods. Herbicides, such as pendimethalin, 2,4-D, penoxsulam, ethoxysulfuron, bispyribac-sodium, triclopyr, imazosulfuron, bensulfuron, pretilachlor, and metsulfuron, were found most effective in aerobic rice systems. Keeping in view the severity of weed infestation in these systems and the evolution of herbicide resistance, reliance on a single control method is out of question. Hence, the approach of integrated weed management is the most appropriate for proper weed management and the subsequent success of rice cultivation using aerobic systems.     

Weed emergence as affected by maize (Zea mays L.)-cover crop rotations in contrasting arable soils of Zimbabwe under conservation agriculture

Weed control in smallholder farming systems of sub-Saharan Africa is labour intensive or costly. Many researchers have therefore advocated for the use of cover crops in weed management as an affordable alternative for smallholders. Cover crops may be grown in rotations to suppress weeds and reduce the reliance on herbicides. The use of cover crops creates microenvironments that are either conducive or inhibitive to the emergence of certain weed species. A study, initiated in 2008 in contrasting soils at four different locations of Zimbabwe, investigated the effect of maize (Zea mays L.)-cover crop rotations on the emergence of weeds that showed dominance in those soils. Weed assessments were however, carried out from 2011 to 2014. The weed species Galinsoga parviflora Cav., Commelina benghalensis L., and Richardia scabra L. showed dominance in all four locations with weed densities as high as 500 plants m⁻² being recorded for R. scabra L. in a sandy soil. Maize-cover crop rotations resulted in higher densities of Bidens pilosa compared with maize monocropping (control treatment) due to its high nitrogen (N) requirement to produce more seeds. On the other hand, the integration of cover crops such as pigeon pea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] that had poor shading qualities, due to large gaps or spaces and slower initial growth, had limited effects on competitive weeds such as Cyperus esculentus L. which tend to dominate exhausted soils. The density of C. esculentus was 38% greater in maize–pigeon pea rotations compared with the control treatment. Variability between seasons and sites affected emergence of all weeds in the present study, which masked long-term trends. The results suggest that there is need to identify the germination and emergence requirements of specific weeds and select cover crops best suitable for their control. The study provides useful information for farmers and advisors on the best cover crops for control of certain problematic weeds in different soil types of Zimbabwe.     

Response of weeds and soil microorganisms to imazaquin and pendimethalin in cowpea and soybean

Herbicides applied to combat weeds and increase crop yields may also have undesired effects on beneficial soil microorganisms. Field studies were conducted in 2005 and 2006 in Zaria, Nigeria, to evaluate the response of weeds and soil microorganisms to imazaquin applied at 0.05, 0.10, 0.20 and 0.40 kg a.i./ha and pendimethalin applied at 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, and 8.0 kg a.i./ha in cowpea and soybean. Hoe-weeded and unweeded (no herbicide) plots were controls. Both herbicides significantly reduced weed biomass in both crops, when compared to the unweeded control, which had the highest weed biomass at all sampling dates. Treatments with 0.40 kg a.i./ha of imazaquin, 2.0 and 4.0 kg a.i./ha of pendimethalin, and the hoe-weeded control, had the highest cowpea grain yield. The unweeded control had the lowest grain yield which was comparable to that in all other herbicide treatments. All treatments except 4.0 and 8.0 kg a.i./ha of pendimethalin had higher soybean grain yield than the unweeded control. Soybean yield was lowest in the unweeded control, and treatments that received 4.0 and 8.0 kg a.i./ha of pendimethalin. All rates of imazaquin gave similar soybean grain yields that were 29–41% higher than that from pendimethalin. The hoe-weeded control had the highest yield, which was 79% more than that in the unweeded control. Higher rates of imazaquin and pendimethalin reduced nodulation, nitrogen fixation, and vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi colonisation in both crops. VAM fungi species diversity and species richness in cowpea rhizosphere soil and species diversity in soybean rhizosphere soil were reduced relative to the controls due to application of both herbicides with the rates of 0.10, 0.20, and 0.40 kg a.i./ha of imazaquin and 8.0 kg a.i./ha of pendimethalin being significantly effective.     

Economic analysis of chemical weed control in irrigated garlic (Allium sativum L.) in Sudan Savanna Ecology, Nigeria

An economic analysis on the use of herbicide to control weeds in garlic production in 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 dry seasons indicated a considerable reduction in the cost of weed control and labour demand with the application of herbicide. Although the hoe weeding and the herbicide gave comparable bulb yield in 2002/2003 dry season, the net return per hectare was higher with herbicide application in both seasons. Similarly, the value of labour saved through herbicides use was positive throughout and increased significantly in 2003/2004 dry season.     

Integration of soil-applied herbicides at the reduced rates with physical control for weed management in fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.)

Fennel has been widely used in traditional medicine for their antimicrobial effects. Since fennel is long duration crop and have slow initial growth, it protection from weed is essential. Experiments were conducted for two consecutive seasons to evaluate the efficacy of soil-applied herbicides at the reduced rates in combination with physical control for weed management and optimizing the yield of fennel. Treatments were type of herbicide (trifluralin and pendimethalin), application dose (recommend dose (R), 75% R, 50% R, and 0% R) and physical weed control (none, one hand-weeding at 50 day after planting (DAP), wheat straw mulch). Weed-free control treatment was also included in each year. The results showed that the use of soil-applied herbicides resulted in reduced weed biomass but did not provide season long weed control without an additional physical control. In both seasons, pendimethalin provided better weeds control than trifluralin. Reduced herbicide rates were found to be more effective when herbicides application followed by hand-weeding than when were used alone or combined with mulch. Experimental results also showed that one time increasing in herbicide rates increased seed yield by 17.5 and 7.5% in 2012 and 16.5 and 6.3% in 2013, when one hand-weeding and mulching were used as supplemental control, respectively. Overall, the 75% of the labeled recommended rate of herbicides followed by one hand-weeding at 50 DAP produced consistently high yields and less weed biomass, reflecting both superior weed control and crop safety.     

茶园套种圆叶决明对杂草物种多样性的影响

为明确圆叶决明对茶园杂草生长的影响,观测闽北茶园套种圆叶决明1~2 a春、夏、秋季杂草群落的多度、多样性指数、均匀度和生物量变化。结果表明：套种圆叶决明1~2 a,茶园秋季杂草群落Simpson多样性指数和Shannon-Weiner多样性指数分别提高了0.187～0.431和0.567～2.312,均匀度指数提高了0.187～1.004。套种处理茶园全年杂草干重较常规栽培（人工除草）分别下降55.8％~61.6％。说明套种圆叶决明可以应用于马唐占优势的茶园,用于控制杂草生物量。     

Yield loss prediction models based on early estimation of weed pressure

Weed control thresholds have been used to reduce costs and avoid unacceptable yield loss. Estimation of weed infestation has often been based on counts of weed plants per unit area or measurement of their relative leaf area index. Various linear, hyperbolic, and sigmoidal regression models have been proposed to predict yield loss, relative to yield in weed free environment from early measurements of weed infestation. The models are integrated in some weed management advisory systems. Generally, the recommendations from the advisory systems are applied to the whole field, but weed control thresholds are more relevant for site-specific weed management, because weeds are unevenly distributed in fields. Precision of prediction of yield loss is influenced by various factors such as locations, yield potential at the site, variation in competitive ability of mix stands of weed species and emergence time of weeds relative to crop. The aim of the review is to analyze various approaches to estimate infestation of weeds and the literature about yield loss prediction for multispecies. We discuss limitations of regression models and possible modifications to include the influential factors related to locations and species composition in context of their implementation in real time patch spraying.     

Effect of herbicides on weed management in dry-seeded rice sown under different tillage systems

In India, dry-seeded rice (DSR) production systems are rapidly replacing conventional rice production systems due to various advantages. DSR systems can be managed under zero-till (ZT) conditions or after a preparatory tillage, often referred to as conventional tillage systems (CONT). Although previous reports indicate the contribution of tillage to weed suppression, the effect of one-time preparatory tillage in a DSR system could vary depending on the dominant weeds in the system, vertical seed distribution and the weed seed dynamics. A study was conducted to test the efficacy of ZT and CONT and their interaction with herbicide treatments on the weed population dynamics and rice grain yield in 2010 and 2011. Tillage systems did not affect weed emergence, weed biomass, tiller production and crop yield. However, herbicide treatments varied in their efficacy on individual weeds. Hand-weeding treatments and pendimethalin combined with hand weeding did not effectively control Cyperus rotundus L. and Panicum maximum Jacq. (a perennial grass weed with underground parts). The herbicide combination of metsulfuron and chlorimuron was effective in controlling C. rotundus but not grass weeds. This indicates the need for sequential applications of herbicides for grass weed control or integration of hand weeding to achieve broad-spectrum weed control. Apart from hand weeding (three times), treatment with penoxsulam–cyhalofop and pendimethalin followed by (fb) hand weeding resulted in low weed density, high tiller production and grain yield. The study clearly indicates that tillage does not always lead to weed suppression compared with ZT, and herbicides must be chosen based on the dominant weeds in a system. The results of this study are pertinent as herbicide-resistant weeds are rapidly evolving under continuous herbicide selection pressure, which warrants studies on enhancing productivity through low-input, environmentally friendly and sustainable production technology.     

河口低热河谷区辣木林四季杂草调查研究

对河口低热河谷区辣木林四季杂草种类、群落组成进行调查。结果表明，该辣木林有杂草73种，隶属22科65属，其中外来入侵种19种，占杂草总数的26.0%。通过分析四季主要杂草的优势度得出，春、夏、秋季优势杂草主要是菊科的鬼针草(Bidens pilosa)，禾本科的马唐(Digitaria sanguinalis)、十字马唐(Digitaria cruciata)、光头稗(Echinochloa colona)、牛筋草(Eleusine indica)等组成；冬季优势杂草主要有菊科的鬼针草、小飞蓬(Conyza canadensis)、鼠麴草(Gnaphalium affine)、野茼蒿(Gnaphalium affine)组成。其中，鬼针草为常年优势杂草，在四季杂草组成中外来入侵杂草优势明显。     

河南省冬小麦田杂草组成及群落特征

为明确河南省冬小麦田间杂草组成及群落结构,采用倒置"W"型九点取样法对河南省冬小麦田杂草进行了调查。结果表明,河南省冬小麦田杂草共有66种,隶属于22科,57属,其中菊科、禾本科和十字花科杂草种类较多,分别有13、10、9种。优势杂草有猪殃殃、荠菜、播娘蒿、野燕麦、泽漆和波斯婆婆纳共6种;区域性优势杂草有看麦娘、刺儿菜、打碗花、野芥菜、麦瓶草、稻槎菜、繁缕和节节麦共8种。此外还有常见杂草19种和一般性杂草33种。从杂草区域分布来看,河南省6个区域中,豫中南平原区物种丰富度最高,为45种,豫中南平原区和豫西丘陵区的物种多样性最高,而豫北平原区和豫南平原区的Simpson优势度指数最高。经聚类分析,河南省6个区域小麦田杂草群落可分为4组:豫东平原区、豫西南平原区和豫中南平原区杂草群落聚为一组;其他3个区域冬小麦田杂草群落结构各有特点,均自成一组。     

Glyphosate management strategies,weed diversity and soybean yield in Argentina

From their introduction in 1996, glyphosate resistant (GR) soybean cultivars have been rapidly adopted by farmers in Argentina and in other countries in the world. The high rate of adoption of this technology seems to be based on the simplicity of use provided by a single herbicide (glyphosate), its high efficacy to control many weeds and, the low costs of the technology relative to that used in conventional crops. During 2001–2002, 2002–2003 and 2003–2004 soybean growing seasons, field surveys and field experiments were performed with the aim of studying the effect of different glyphosate management strategies on the diversity of soybean weed communities, weed control, individual survival, fecundity and crop yield. In addition, the emergence pattern of three important weeds, Digitaria sanguinalis, Cyperus rotundus and Anoda cristata, was also studied. Both field surveys and field experiments were carried out on no-till soybean crops sown immediately after wheat or barley harvest (double cropped system). Experiments were set up in commercial soybean crops and consisted of different times of a single glyphosate application, two glyphosate applications and also the application of glyphosate plus a residual herbicide imazethapyr. A. cristata, D. sanguinalis, Stellaria media, Chenopodium album and Cyperus sp. were the most prevalent weeds recorded at pre-harvest of the soybean crops, showing regional constancy higher than 80% in both years. In three out of four field experiments, crop yield was not increased when glyphosate was applied twice compared with a single application of the herbicide. In addition there was a lower negative effect on weed species richness when glyphosate was applied once during the crop cycle than with two applications of glyphosate or glyphosate plus imazethapyr. D. sanguinalis escaped the glyphosate early treatment because of the long weed emergence period, while A. cristata and C. rotundus survived treatments due to their high individual tolerance. The results suggest that it is possible to manage glyphosate application to get high crop yield with a low impact on weed diversity, depending on the weed species and their abundance.     

异噁唑草酮·噻酮磺隆在玉米不同种植区应用的除草效果和安全性研究

2016～2017年在东北春玉米种植区和黄淮海夏玉米种植区设立田间试验基地,研究除草剂异噁唑草酮·噻酮磺隆悬浮剂在不同区域玉米田播后苗前处理的杀草谱及除草效果、对玉米安全性及对下茬作物生长的影响。结果表明,26.7%异噁唑草酮·噻酮磺隆悬浮剂141.75～283.5 g ai/hm2在玉米播后苗前使用,对东北春玉米种植区主要杂草稗草、狗尾草、藜、反枝苋、苘麻、刺儿菜和黄淮海玉米种植区主要杂草马唐、牛筋草、反枝苋、马齿苋、铁苋菜等禾本科杂草和阔叶杂草均有理想效果,药后40～45 d,异噁唑草酮·噻酮磺隆上述处理对杂草鲜重防效仍在95%左右,可实现一次施药控制玉米全生长期的杂草,在玉米田具有较好的除草增产作用;对后茬播种的小麦、大豆、花生、油菜、菠菜生长无影响。     

The critical period for weed control in dry-seeded rice

The critical crop-weed competition period in a dry-seeded rice system is an important consideration in formulating weed management strategies. Field experiments were conducted in the summer seasons of 2012 and 2013 at the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India, to determine the extent of yield loss in two different rice cultivars (PR 114 and PR 115) with different periods of weed interference. Twelve weed control timings were used to identify critical periods of weed competition in dry-seeded rice. PR 114, a long-duration rice cultivar (145 d) having slower initial growth than PR 115 (125 d), was more prone to yield losses. In both years, 100% yield loss was observed where weeds were not controlled throughout the season. In weed-free plots, the grain yield of PR 114 was 6.39–6.80 t ha⁻¹, for PR 115, it was 6.49–6.87 t ha⁻¹. Gompertz and logistic equations fitted to yield data in response to increasing periods of weed control and weed interference showed that, PR 114 had longer critical periods than PR 115. Critical weed-free periods to achieve 95% of weed-free yield for PR 114 was longer than for PR 115 by 31 days in 2012 and 26 days in 2013. Weed infestation also influenced the duration of critical periods. Higher weed pressure in 2012 than in 2013 increased the duration of the critical period of crop-weed competition in that year. The identification of critical crop-weed competition periods for different cultivars will facilitate improved decision-making regarding the timing of weed control and the adoption of cultivars having high weed-suppressing abilities. This will also contribute to the development of integrated weed management in dry-seeded rice systems.     

Management of complex weed flora in dry-seeded rice

Dry-seeded rice has been introduced as an alternative to puddled hand-transplanted rice in the north Indian states of Punjab and Haryana. In dry-seeded rice, weed flora tends to be more diverse and weeds emerge in several flushes during the crop growth cycle and substantial yield reductions due to weed competition are quite common. The efficacy and compatibility of tank mixtures of different herbicides for the control of diverse weed flora in dry-seeded rice was evaluated in field experiments during the summer seasons of 2012 and 2013. The tank mixture of fenoxaprop with ethoxysulfuron improved the control of Echinochloa crus-galli and Echinochloa colona by 43–69% as compared to fenoxaprop alone while the tank-mix of azimsulfuron with fenoxaprop was antagonistic and reduced the control of Leptochloa chinensis by 86% as compared to fenoxaprop alone. Addition of azimsulfuron or ethoxysulfuron to bispyribac did not improve the control of grass weeds as compared to bispyribac alone. Weed control with the mixture of bispyribac and fenoxaprop varied over the two years. In 2012, bispyribac and fenoxaprop mixture was antagonistic for the control of Dactyloctenum aegyptium, Acrachne racemose, and L. chinensis but in 2013, there was no apparent antagonism and the addition of bispyribac to fenoxaprop reduced grass weed biomass as compared to fenoxaprop alone. In 2013, there was a strong negative correlation (r = −0.95, P < 0.001) between weed dry matter at 45 days after sowing and rice grain yield. According to the linear regression, rice crop is likely to produce no grain yield when weed dry matter exceeds 400 g m⁻². Over the two seasons, fenoxaprop-ethoxysulfuron tank-mix produced similar grain yields (5.6–6.2 t ha⁻¹) to the weed-free check (5.6–7.1 t ha⁻¹). At the farmer fields, rice grain yield in the plots treated with pendimethalin followed by post-emergence bispyribac or a tank-mix of fenoxaprop + ethoxysulfuron ranged from 6.2 to 7.7 t ha⁻¹ as compared to 5.3–5.6 t ha⁻¹ in the plots treated with pendimethalin alone. The tank mixture of fenoxaprop with bispyribac needs further evaluation as this mixture has the potential to effectively control aerobic and aquatic grasses in dry-seeded rice. Single hand weeding prevented crop yield loss from weeds that escaped herbicide treatments only when it was performed within six weeks of sowing.     

云南红河流域热带作物园区杂草组成及群落特征分析

采用相对优势度、物种丰富度指数、Shannon-Wiener指数、Simpson指数、Pielou指数、群落相似性指数等生态学指标及聚类分析的方法,对4种作物地杂草进行分析。结果表明：该地区农田杂草共有116种,隶属于37个科,其中禾本科和菊科种数较多,分别占总数的21.55%和19.83%;鬼针草（Bidens pilosa）和牛筋草（Eleusine indica）在各作物园区普遍为害,为常年优势恶性杂草,应重点防控;各作物地杂草的多样性,橡胶地最高,其次为香蕉地,菠萝地和油梨地多样性较低;多样性指数的季相变化规律,4种作物地均表现为夏秋季高于冬春季;杂草群落相似性和聚类分析结果一致表明：菠萝蜜地与油梨地杂草群落相似度最高,其次为香蕉地与菠萝蜜地,再次为香蕉地与油梨地,橡胶地与其他3种作物地相似度均较低。     

Can winter cover crops influence weed density and diversity in a reduced tillage vegetable system?

Weeds are a major constraint for organic crop production. Previous research has found that cover crops in reduced tillage systems can provide weed interference, subsequently reducing inputs and improving crop yield. However, questions remain about effects of cover crop species identity and cover crop biomass on weed suppression and crop yield. This four-year study investigated how winter cover crops grown alone or in mixture influenced weed presence and crop yield in a reduced tillage organic vegetable system. Treatments were barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.), mixed barley + crimson clover, and a no-cover crop control. Plots were flail-mowed and strip-tilled prior to planting main crops (2011 and 2012: broccoli Brassica oleracea L.; 2013 and 2014: crookneck squash Cucurbita pepo L.). We measured density, diversity, and community composition of weeds and viable weed seeds, changes in weed percent cover within growing seasons, and crop yield. We found that the presence of barley, crimson clover, or barley + crimson clover reduced weed density by 50% relative to the control. Cover crop biomass negatively influenced weed density and weed seed diversity, and positively influenced squash yield. Weed percent cover within growing seasons did not respond differentially to cover crop treatment. Cover crop treatment and cover crop biomass had no influence on weed or weed seed community composition. These results suggest that reduced tillage winter cover crops in mixture or monoculture can similarly suppress weeds and improve yield, primarily due to biomass effects.     

绥化市大豆田主要杂草发生及防除对策研究

采用路线踏查与定点观察相结合方法对绥化市大豆田主要杂草种类及发生规律进行调查,并在此基础上对杂草的防除技术进行研究,结果显示:绥化市大豆田杂草共有15科24种,并且杂草发生期集中,高峰期的出草量占总出草量的85%左右.化学防除技术研究显示土壤封闭、茎叶处理所用不同除草剂单混效果不同.并对化学除草的注意事项进行说明,应根据气候条件、土壤墒情、大豆发育进度、杂草大小等灵活运用防除对策.