Influence of defoliation on reproductive capacity and growth in Buddleja davidii

This study aims at quantifying the effects of defoliation on seed production and germination in Buddleja davidii , and determining the potential for reducing the invasive success of the species. The effects of defoliation on seed production and germination at the flower spike and plant levels were investigated for control plants and plants that were defoliated by 66% at monthly intervals from mid-summer (January) to mid-autumn (April). Seed samples for germination were collected in late autumn (May). Defoliation reduced flower spike number per shoot, seed number per flower spike and average seed mass by 9%, 22% and 13% and 30%, 33% and 17% on main and side shoots, respectively. In contrast, emergent leaf area per shoot in the defoliated plants exceeded that for the control plants by 89%. The ratio of total seed mass per plant/emergent leaf area per shoot was significantly lower in the defoliated compared with the control plants by 50%. Defoliation did not affect the timing or rate of seed germination. Defoliation of B. davidii resulted in a marked decrease in reproductive capacity, consistent with the priority allocation of resources to compensational leaf area growth.     

Use of airborne multispectral imagery to discriminate and map weed infestations in a citrus orchard

Reliable information on weed abundance and distribution within fields is essential for weed management in agricultural systems. Such information is necessary to adopt localized and variable rates of herbicide spraying, thus reducing chemical waste, crop damage, and environmental pollution. This paper examined the potential of airborne multispectral imagery to discriminate and map weed infestations in an experimental citrus orchard in Japan. Using an airborne digital sensor, multispectral imagery was acquired over the study site on 10 April 2003. The obtained reflectance imagery was analyzed using an image object-based approach in eCognition. After creating image objects on the image, the spectral information for weeds and citrus, represented by corresponding selected sample image objects, was extracted. Significant differences in the spectral characteristics between weeds and citrus were observed in each of the red, green, and blue wavebands. The simple average values of these wavebands were used to classify image objects with the nearest neighbor algorithm. Maps were generated with different classes or levels of class groups. A subsequent accuracy assessment demonstrated that the weeds were successfully discriminated from other image objects with a classification accuracy of 99.07%. Therefore, maps generated based on the classification result could provide valuable information for developing a site-specific weed management program for the study orchard.     

Effects of selective cutting and timing of herbicide application on growth and development of Cirsium arvense in spring barley

Recently, a new implement for controlling weeds in cereals (CombCut) has been developed. It cuts weeds in growing cereals without damaging them by using the physical differences (in height, stem thickness, straw stiffness and branching pattern) between crops and weeds. To evaluate and compare the effects of selective cutting with different timings of herbicide application on Cirsium arvense in spring barley, a randomised block experiment was conducted in Sweden in 2015–2017, in a field with a naturally occurring C. arvense population. Treatments consisted of control (C), herbicide application at 4–5‐leaf stage of C. arvense (H1), herbicide application at 8–10‐leaf stage (H2) and selective cutting at 10‐leaf stage (S). The treatments were performed in 2015 and repeated in 2016 in the same plots, and a final evaluation was performed in 2017. Compared to the control, S, H1 and H2 were equally efficient in reducing above‐ground biomass production of C. arvense and increasing spring barley grain yield per unit area. The number of C. arvense shoots per area was, however, higher in S compared to H1 and H2. No differences in control effects on shoot number were observed between H1 and H2. Our study indicates that (i) selective cutting (S) reduces C. arvense equally efficient as herbicide application and (ii) early herbicide spraying is as efficient as spraying later in the season.     

Influence of intra-row cruciferous surrogate weed growth on crop yield in organic spring cereals

In Northern Europe, inter-row hoeing has become a popular tactic for controlling weeds in organic cereals. Hoeing is highly effective and can be implemented from crop emergence until stem elongation to maintain a nearly weed-free inter-row zone. However, hoeing has a lesser effect on weeds growing in the intra-row zone, where crop–weed proximity results in heightened competition. In the hoed cereal system, it is investigated whether tall-growing, competitive, cruciferous weeds in the intra-row zone affect crop biomass, yield and thousand kernel weight (TKW). An additive experimental design is employed to enable the fitting of rectangular hyperbolas, describing and quantifying the effects of increasing intra-row surrogate weed density on crop growth parameters. Regressions were studied under the influence of crop (spring barley and spring wheat), row spacing (narrow [12.5 or 15.0 cm] and wide [25.0 cm]) and nitrogen rate (50 and 100 kg NH₄-N/ha). Cruciferous surrogate weeds were found to impact crop yield and quality severely. For example, ten intra-row plants/m² of surrogate weed Sinapis alba reduced grains yields by 7%–14% in spring barley and by 7%–32% in spring wheat with yield losses becoming markedly greater in wheat compared to barley as weed density increases. Compared to wheat, barley limited yield and quality losses and suppressed intra-row weed growth more. Row spacing did not have a consistent effect on crop or weed parameters; in one of six experiments, the 25 cm row spacing reduced yields and increased intra-row weed biomass in wheat. Nitrogen rate did not affect crop or weed parameters. Results warrant the implementation of additional tactics to control intra-row weeds and limit crop losses.     

半湿润农田杂草及施氮对夏玉米产量及氮素利用的影响

以土垫旱耕人为土为供试土壤,采用大田试验,研究了半湿润农田两种杂草处理方式下(成熟后期清除杂草-A区和苗期开始清除杂草-B区),不同施氮量对夏玉米产量及氮素利用效率的影响。结果表明,当施氮量为0、45、90、135、180 kg/hm2时,B区玉米子粒产量比A区分别增加了8.7%、12.1%、9.4%、5.0%和12.5%;吸氮量分别增加了1.5、2.9、4.8、5.2和4.3 kg/hm2。A区和B区全生育期0―100 cm土层矿质氮（Nmin）累积量变化趋势基本一致,但B区比A区变幅较大。当施氮量为45、90、135和180 kg/hm2时,B区氮肥利用率、氮肥农学利用率、氮肥生理利用率均高于A区。研究还发现,在A区,当施氮量为180 kg/hm2时,杂草干生物量最大,为1518.3 kg/hm2,不施氮时,杂草的生物量最低,为845.7 kg/hm2;杂草的吸氮量随施氮量的增加而增加。可见,清除玉米农田杂草不仅可以提高作物产量和氮肥利用率,而且在减少氮素损失方面具有一定作用。     

灯盏花大田杂草种类调查及防除

经过4年对灯盏花田杂草种类的调查确定,在云南玉溪地区灯盏花田常见杂草有32种,隶属16科,主要杂草是鹅肠菜、野燕麦、长芒棒头草、无芒稗、酸模叶蓼,6月下旬至7月初为发生第1高峰期,10月中至11月下旬为发生第2高峰期,可通过药剂土壤处理、药剂茎叶喷雾防治和人工拔除控制灯盏花田杂草。     

滇西南蔗区新有害生物-阔叶丰花草

近年来，临沧市部分蔗地发现一种新杂草，经实地调查和查阅相关资料，结果表明该物种是原产于南美洲热带地区，现已入侵广东南部、海南、香港、台湾、福建南部和浙江温岭一带的茜草科新归化种阔叶丰花草（Spermoce latifolia Aubl.），该杂草尚未受到足够的重视。在对其入侵路径及危害、形态特征及消长规律进行归纳的基础上，重点提出了防控建议和防除措施。     

Tolerance of four spring barley (Hordeum vulgare) varieties to weed harrowing

We investigated the tolerance to weed harrowing of four spring barley varieties and examined the possible interactions between varietal weed suppressive ability and two nutrient levels. Tolerance was defined as the combined effect of crop resistance (ability to resist soil covering) and crop recovery (the ability to recover in terms of yield). The weed harrowing strategy was a combination of one pre‐ and one post‐emergence weed harrowing. In terms of yield, the four varieties responded significantly differently to weed harrowing and the response depended on nutrient level. At the lower nutrient level, weed harrowing caused an increase in yield of 4.4 hkg ha⁻¹ for a strong competitor (cv. Otira), while there was no effect on yield at the higher nutrient level. For a weaker competitor (cv. Brazil), weed harrowing caused no change in yield at the lower nutrient level, whereas yield decreased by 6.0 hkg ha⁻¹ at the higher nutrient level. There were marked differences between the weed suppressive ability of the four varieties when not harrowed, with less pronounced but significant differences when harrowed. Weed harrowing did not change the weed suppressive ability of a variety. Varieties that are tall at post‐emergence harrowing and have increased density after pre‐emergence harrowing, are the ones that benefit most from weed harrowing.     

玉米生长与地面覆盖栽培试验

在广州秋播玉米采用稻草覆盖与地膜覆盖和无覆盖相比，稻草覆盖的玉米产量和穗行数性状明显优越，穗长，行粒数，穗粗，千料重等性状也有较好的趋势。稻草和黑色地膜覆盖，均可减少杂草萌发，稻草覆盖处理中萌发的杂草，仍然会不断生长，但个体数量已大大减少。     

Mapping Ridolfia segetum patches in sunflower crop using remote sensing

Ridolfia segetum is a frequent umbelliferous weed in sunflower crops in the Mediterranean basin. Field and remote sensing research was conducted in 2003 and 2004 over two naturally infested fields to determine the potential of multispectral imagery for discrimination and mapping of R. segetum patches in sunflower crops. The efficiency of the four wavebands blue (B), green (G), red (R) and near‐infrared (NIR), selected vegetation indices and the spectral angle mapper (SAM) classification method were studied using aerial photographs taken in the late vegetative (mid‐May), flowering (mid‐June) and senescence (mid‐July) crop growth stages. Discrimination efficiency of R. segetum patches in sunflower crops is consistently affected by their phenological stages, in this order: flowering > senescence > vegetative. In both fields, R. segetum patches were efficiently discriminated in mid‐June, corresponding to the flowering phase, by using the waveband G, the ratio R/B or SAM with overall accuracies ranging from 85% to 98%. The application of the median‐filtering algorithm to any of the classified images improved the accuracy. Our results suggest that mapping R. segetum weed patches in sunflower to implement site‐specific weed management techniques is feasible with aerial photography when images are taken from 8 to 10 weeks before harvesting.