0000000001115915
AUTHOR
Richard G. Smith
Legacy Effects of Contrasting Long-Term Integrated Weed Management Systems
To reduce reliance on herbicides and maintain crop productivity, integrated weed management (IWM) seeks to optimize synergies between diverse sets of weed management practices combined at the cropping system scale. Nevertheless, data on weed community response to the long-term implementation of IWM practices remain scare. Here, we assessed the effects of four IWM systems with contrasting objectives and practices (S2: transition from superficial tillage to conservation agriculture; S3: no-mechanical weeding; S4: mixed mechanical and chemical weeding; S5: herbicide-free; all with 6 year rotations) compared to a conventional reference (S1: herbicide-based with systematic plowing and a 3 year r…
When it comes to tillage, timing matters and drives weed communities
International audience; Tillage is a foundational management practice in many cropping systems to manage weed seedbanks and reduce reliance on herbicides for weed management. Tillage alters established weed communities but can also stimulate weed seed germination and emergence. Hence, viewed within a community assembly framework tillage is a strong assembly filter that can either constrain or advance the membership of species within the subsequent weed community. At four locations in the Northeastern United States, twelve treatments of a single primary tillage (10-cm depth) event at 2-week intervals over the course of the growing season were compared using a randomized complete block design…