Effect of four pre-planted cover crop species on weed control and population dynamics

Submitted: 22 January 2020
Accepted: 7 July 2020
Published: 28 September 2020
Abstract Views: 569
PDF: 379
HTML: 24
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

The present research was conducted to assess the competition of four cover crop species including the Festuca ovina L., Festuca rubra L., Agropyron desertorum (Fischer ex Link) Shultes, and Bromus tomentellus Boiss with the weeds as well as enhancement of their establishment. B. tomentellus with 7.7 and 8.73 t h–1 had the highest dry weight production in 2016 and 2017, respectively. In 2016, the highest reduction in the dry weight of the weeds (73%) was observed for the F. ovina, at the rate of 600 g active ingredient per ha–1 of herbicide. In 2017, the highest reduction in the dry weight of the weeds (90%) was recorded at the rate of 600 g active ingredient per ha–1 of herbicide for the. Dry weight of the dominant weeds decreased by 70% approximately with the and at the rate of 600 g active ingredient per ha–1 of herbicide. Shannon Wiener index decreased in all the treatments following the increase in the herbicide concentrations in 2016 and 2017. The interaction of cover crop species and herbicide on the Margalef index was significant in all the treatments in 2016 except for A. desertorum, as well as A. desertorum and in 2017. Margalef index reduced following the increase in the herbicide concentration in all the treatments.

 

Highlights
- Bromus tomentellus Bioss and Festuca ovina L had the highest biomass production.
- Bromus tomentellus (90%) and Festuca ovina (73%) treatments had the highest decrease in total weed dry weight compared to control.
- The highest reduction in dry weight of total dominant weeds was influenced by B. tomentellus and Festuca ovina 73% and 83% at the rate of 600 g a.i. ha–1 of Bromocide M.A. EC respectively.
- Margalof index reduced following the increase in herbicide concentration in all treatments.
- Bromus tomentellus, Festuca ovina has the potential for reducing weeds in orchards and croplands.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

Armaki MA, Hashemi M, Azarniv H, 2013. Physiological and morphological responses of three Bromus species to drought stress at seedling stage and grown under germinator and greenhouse conditions. AJPS. 7(5), 155-161. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5897/AJPS11.019
Bangarwa SK, Norsworthy JK. Gbur EE, 2009. Cover crop and herbicide combinations for weed control in polyethylene-mulched bell pepper. HortTechnology, 19(2), pp.405-410. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI.19.2.405
BÃ rberi P, Mazzoncini M, 2001. Changes in weed community composition as influenced by cover crop and management system in continuous corn. Weed Science. 49(4), 491-499. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1614/0043-1745(2001)049[0491:CIWCCA]2.0.CO;2
Booth BD, Murphy SD, Swanton CJ, 2003. Weed ecology in natural and agricultural systems. CABI Pub. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1079/9780851995281.0000
Bybee-Finley KA, Mirsky SB, Ryan MR, 2017. Crop biomass not species richness drives weed suppression in warm-season annual grass–legume intercrops in the Northeast. Weed science. 65(5), 669-680. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/wsc.2017.25
Cléments, DR, Weise SF, Swanton CJ, 1994. Integrated weed management and weed species diversity. Phytoprotection. 75(1), 1-18. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7202/706048ar
Fernandez C, Monnier Y, Santonja M, Gallet C, Weston LA, Prévosto B, Bousquet-Mélou A, 2016. The impact of competition and allelopathy on the trade-off between plant defense and growth in two contrasting tree species. ‎Front. Plant Sci. 7, 594. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2016.00594
Fourie JC, Louw PJE, Agenbag GA, 2001. Effect of seeding date on the performance of grasses and broadleaf species evaluated for cover crop management in two wine grape regions of South Africa. SAJPS.18(3), 118-127. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02571862.2001.10634415
Grime JP, Curtis AV, 1976. The interaction of drought and mineral nutrient stress in calcareous grassland. ‎J. Ecol. 975-988. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2258819
HÃ¥kansson S, 2003. Weeds and weed management on arable land: an ecological approach. CABI publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1079/9780851996516.0000
Hein T, 2014. Herbicide impacts on establishing cover crops. Available from https:// www.top crop manager.com/ tillage/ herbicide -impacts -on-establishing -cover-crops 16150.
Hock SM, Knezevic SZ, Martin AR, Lindquist JL, 2006. Soybean row spacing and weed emergence time influence weed competitiveness and competitive indices. Weed Science. 54(1), 38-46. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1614/WS-05-011R.1
Holt J, 1995. Plant responses to light: a potential tool for weed management. Weed Science. 43(3), 474-482. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0043174500081509
Jabran K, Mahajan G, Sardana V, Chauhan BS, 2015. Allelopathy for weed control in agricultural systems. J Crop Prot. 72, 57-65. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2015.03.004
Koger CH, Reddy KN, Shaw DR, 2002. Effects of rye cover crop residue and herbicides on weed control in narrow and wide row soybean planting systems. Weed Biology and Management, 2(4), pp.216-224. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1445-6664.2002.00072.x
Liebman M, Davis AS, 2000. Integration of soil, crop and weed management in low-external-input farming systems. Weed Research-Oxford. 40(1), 27-48. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-3180.2000.00164.x
Linares J, Scholberg JMS, Chase C, McSorley R, 2008. Evaluation of annual warm-season cover crops for weed management in organic citrus. In Organic Fruit Conference 873 (pp. 235-242). DOI: https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2010.873.25
Magurran AE, 1988. Ecological diversity and its measurement. Princeton university press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7358-0
Mitrović M, Pavlović P, Lakušić D, Djurdjević L, Stevanović B, Kostić O, Gajić G, 2008. The potential of Festuca rubra and Calamagrostis epigejos for the revegetation of fly ash deposits. Sci. Total Environ, 407(1), 338-347. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.09.001
Ngouajio M, McGiffen JrME, Hutchinson CM, 2003. Effect of cover crop and management system on weed populations in lettuce. J Crop Prot, 22(1), 57-64. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0261-2194(02)00111-4
Pessarakli, M, 2007. Handbook of turfgrass management and physiology. CRC press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1201/9781420006483
Phophi MM, Mafongoya PL, Odindo AO, Magwaza LS, 2017. Screening Cover Crops for Weed Suppression in Conservation Agriculture. Sustainable Agriculture Research, 6(526-2017-2700). DOI: https://doi.org/10.5539/sar.v6n4p124
Reddy KN, 2003. Impact of rye cover crop and herbicides on weeds, yield, and net return in narrow-row transgenic and conventional soybean (Glycine max). Weed Technology, 17(1), 28-35. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1614/0890-037X(2003)017[0028:IORCCA]2.0.CO;2
Rezvannejad E, Sharafi M, 2016. Evaluation of competitive ability in Artemisia (Artemisia aucheri) with Bromus (Bromus tomentellus) and relationship with the amount and distribution of leaf canopy. EASL. 3, pp.30-37.
Rognli OA, Saha MC, Bhamidimarri S, van der Heijden S, 2010. Fescues. In Fodder Crops and Amenity Grasses (pp. 261-292). Springer, New York, NY. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0760-8_11
Saeedi Goraghani HR, Heidary GA, Solaimani Sardo M, 2013. Effects of salinity and drought stresses on seed germination and seedling growth of desert wheatgrass Agropyron desertorum. JRS. 4(1), 14-22.
San Emeterio L, Damgaard C, Canals RM, 2007. Modelling the combined effect of chemical interference and resource competition on the individual growth of two herbaceous populations. Plant and Soil, 292(1-2), pp.95-103.Tabatabaifar SAT, 2012. The effect of barley grass cover crop on control weed of flix weld (Descurainia Sophia) J. Exp. Biol. 2(6), pp.2257-2263. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-007-9205-9
Sikoriya S, 2014. Phenological Study and Management of Red Fescue (Festuca rubra) in Wild Blueberry. Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia August 2014
Teasdale JR, Pillai P, Collins RT, 2005. Synergism between cover crop residue and herbicide activity on emergence and early growth of weeds. Weed science, 53(4), 521-527. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1614/WS-04-212R
Tribouillois H, Fort F, Cruz P, Charles R, Flores O, Garnier E, Justes E, 2015. A functional characterisation of a wide range of cover crop species: growth and nitrogen acquisition rates, leaf traits and ecological strategies. PLoS One, 10(3), e0122156. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0122156
Westbrook J, Carr C, Hatfield P, Miller P, Menalled F, 2015. Sheep Grazing for Field Pea Cover Crop Termination In A Winter Wheat Production System. College of Agriculture and Extension, P.61.
Yaduraju NT, Rao AN, 2013. The role of weed science in supportings food security by 2020. Implications of weeds and weed management on food security and safety in the Asia-Pacific region.

How to Cite

Majidi, M. R., Mirshekari, B., Samedani, B., Farahvash, F., & Hajnajari, H. (2020). Effect of four pre-planted cover crop species on weed control and population dynamics. Italian Journal of Agronomy, 15(3), 253–260. https://doi.org/10.4081/ija.2020.1595