Interactive Effects of Subsidiary Crops and Weed Pressure in the Transition Period to Non-Inversion Tillage, A Case Study of Six Sites Across Northern and Central Europe
Reducing soil tillage can lead to many benefits, but this practice often increases weed abundance and thus the need for herbicides, especially during the transition phase from inversion tillage to non-inversion tillage. We evaluated if subsidiary crops (SCs, e.g., cover crops) can mitigate the effec...
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doaj-726b671227ea4c46b4ed2c7a4a2c23a02021-04-02T09:07:42ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952019-08-019949510.3390/agronomy9090495agronomy9090495Interactive Effects of Subsidiary Crops and Weed Pressure in the Transition Period to Non-Inversion Tillage, A Case Study of Six Sites Across Northern and Central EuropeMarie Reimer0Björn Ringselle1Göran Bergkvist2Sally Westaway3Raphaël Wittwer4Jörg Peter Baresel5Marcel G. A. van der Heijden6Kjell Mangerud7Maria R. Finckh8Lars Olav Brandsæter9Institute of Crop Science, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, GermanyDivision of Biotechnology and Plant Health, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, 1433 Ås, NorwayDepartment of Crop Production Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 75007 Uppsala, SwedenThe Organic Research Centre, Berkshire RG20 0HR, UKResearch Division Agroecology and Environment, Agroscope, 8046 Zürich, SwitzerlandDepartment of Plant Sciences, Technical University of Munich, 85354 Freising, GermanyResearch Division Agroecology and Environment, Agroscope, 8046 Zürich, SwitzerlandDivision of Biotechnology and Plant Health, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, 1433 Ås, NorwayFaculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences, Department of Ecological Plant Protection, University of Kassel, 37213 Witzenhausen, GermanyFaculty of Biosciences, Department of Plant Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, 1433 Ås, NorwayReducing soil tillage can lead to many benefits, but this practice often increases weed abundance and thus the need for herbicides, especially during the transition phase from inversion tillage to non-inversion tillage. We evaluated if subsidiary crops (SCs, e.g., cover crops) can mitigate the effects of non-inversion tillage on weed abundance. Two-year experiments studying SC use, tillage intensity, and nitrogen (N) fertilization level were carried out twice at six sites throughout northern and central Europe. SCs significantly reduced weed cover throughout the intercrop period (−55% to −1% depending on site), but only slightly during the main crops. Overall weed abundance and weed biomass were higher when using non-inversion tillage with SCs compared to inversion tillage without SCs. The effects differed due to site-specific weed pressure and management. With increasing weed pressure, the effect of SCs decreased, and the advantage of inversion over non-inversion tillage increased. N fertilization level did not affect weed abundance. The results suggest that SCs can contribute by controlling weeds but cannot fully compensate for reduced weed control of non-inversion tillage in the transition phase. Using non-inversion tillage together with SCs is primarily recommended in low weed pressure environments.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/9/9/495N fertilizationcover cropsliving mulchescatch cropsnon-inversion tillageconservation agriculturemeta-analysisweed managementintegrated weed managementIPM |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Marie Reimer Björn Ringselle Göran Bergkvist Sally Westaway Raphaël Wittwer Jörg Peter Baresel Marcel G. A. van der Heijden Kjell Mangerud Maria R. Finckh Lars Olav Brandsæter |
spellingShingle |
Marie Reimer Björn Ringselle Göran Bergkvist Sally Westaway Raphaël Wittwer Jörg Peter Baresel Marcel G. A. van der Heijden Kjell Mangerud Maria R. Finckh Lars Olav Brandsæter Interactive Effects of Subsidiary Crops and Weed Pressure in the Transition Period to Non-Inversion Tillage, A Case Study of Six Sites Across Northern and Central Europe Agronomy N fertilization cover crops living mulches catch crops non-inversion tillage conservation agriculture meta-analysis weed management integrated weed management IPM |
author_facet |
Marie Reimer Björn Ringselle Göran Bergkvist Sally Westaway Raphaël Wittwer Jörg Peter Baresel Marcel G. A. van der Heijden Kjell Mangerud Maria R. Finckh Lars Olav Brandsæter |
author_sort |
Marie Reimer |
title |
Interactive Effects of Subsidiary Crops and Weed Pressure in the Transition Period to Non-Inversion Tillage, A Case Study of Six Sites Across Northern and Central Europe |
title_short |
Interactive Effects of Subsidiary Crops and Weed Pressure in the Transition Period to Non-Inversion Tillage, A Case Study of Six Sites Across Northern and Central Europe |
title_full |
Interactive Effects of Subsidiary Crops and Weed Pressure in the Transition Period to Non-Inversion Tillage, A Case Study of Six Sites Across Northern and Central Europe |
title_fullStr |
Interactive Effects of Subsidiary Crops and Weed Pressure in the Transition Period to Non-Inversion Tillage, A Case Study of Six Sites Across Northern and Central Europe |
title_full_unstemmed |
Interactive Effects of Subsidiary Crops and Weed Pressure in the Transition Period to Non-Inversion Tillage, A Case Study of Six Sites Across Northern and Central Europe |
title_sort |
interactive effects of subsidiary crops and weed pressure in the transition period to non-inversion tillage, a case study of six sites across northern and central europe |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Agronomy |
issn |
2073-4395 |
publishDate |
2019-08-01 |
description |
Reducing soil tillage can lead to many benefits, but this practice often increases weed abundance and thus the need for herbicides, especially during the transition phase from inversion tillage to non-inversion tillage. We evaluated if subsidiary crops (SCs, e.g., cover crops) can mitigate the effects of non-inversion tillage on weed abundance. Two-year experiments studying SC use, tillage intensity, and nitrogen (N) fertilization level were carried out twice at six sites throughout northern and central Europe. SCs significantly reduced weed cover throughout the intercrop period (−55% to −1% depending on site), but only slightly during the main crops. Overall weed abundance and weed biomass were higher when using non-inversion tillage with SCs compared to inversion tillage without SCs. The effects differed due to site-specific weed pressure and management. With increasing weed pressure, the effect of SCs decreased, and the advantage of inversion over non-inversion tillage increased. N fertilization level did not affect weed abundance. The results suggest that SCs can contribute by controlling weeds but cannot fully compensate for reduced weed control of non-inversion tillage in the transition phase. Using non-inversion tillage together with SCs is primarily recommended in low weed pressure environments. |
topic |
N fertilization cover crops living mulches catch crops non-inversion tillage conservation agriculture meta-analysis weed management integrated weed management IPM |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/9/9/495 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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