Integrated Weed Management systems allow reduced reliance on herbicides and long-term weed control

Current concerns about the environmental impacts of pesticide use in agriculture require the investigation of novel cropping systems that would reduce their reliance on pesticides. In this paper, we report on an experiment carried out over 6 years to assess the performance of four cropping systems based on Integrated Weed Management (IWM) as compared to a reference standard system. Systems differed in crop rotations, soil tillage, mechanical and chemical weeding and crop management. Fewer herbicides were applied in IWM-based systems as compared to the reference, resulting in a lower environmental impact. Over the 6 years, we detected no significant increase in the density of winter or summer annual broad-leaved, and of grassy weeds in IWM systems, with one exception that is discussed. These results indicate that the combination of various IWM techniques allow both the long-term control of arable weeds and a significantly reduced reliance on herbicides.

[1]  Nicolas Munier-Jolain,et al.  Time scales as a factor in decision-making by French farmers on weed management in annual crops , 2007 .

[2]  D. T. Baumann,et al.  Focus on ecological weed management: what is hindering adoption? , 2008 .

[3]  D. Pimentel,et al.  Environmental, Energetic, and Economic Comparisons of Organic and Conventional Farming Systems , 2005 .

[4]  Deirdre Lemerle,et al.  Genetic improvement and agronomy for enhanced wheat competitiveness with weeds , 2001 .

[5]  G. Robertson,et al.  Effects of Crop Diversity on Agroecosystem Function: Crop Yield Response , 2008, Ecosystems.

[6]  N. Colbach,et al.  Evaluation of cropping systems for management of herbicide-resistant populations of blackgrass (Alopecurus myosuroides Huds.). , 2001 .

[7]  Otto Richter,et al.  Modelling spatio-temporal dynamics of herbicide resistance , 2002 .

[8]  H M van der Werf,et al.  An indicator of pesticide environmental impact based on a fuzzy expert system. , 1998, Chemosphere.

[9]  J. Cardina,et al.  Long-Term Tillage Effects on Seed Banks in Three Ohio Soils , 1991, Weed Science.

[10]  I. Rasmussen,et al.  The effect of sowing date, stale seedbed, row width and mechanical weed control on weeds and yields of organic winter wheat , 2004 .

[11]  Susan E. Weaver,et al.  Separating the effects of crop rotation from weed management on weed density and diversity , 1999, Weed Science.

[12]  M. Liebman,et al.  Crop Rotation and Intercropping Strategies for Weed Management. , 1993, Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America.

[13]  J. Olesen,et al.  Effects on weeds of management in newly converted organic crop rotations in Denmark , 2006 .

[14]  V.W.L. Jordan,et al.  Research into and development of integrated farming systems for less-intensive arable crop production: experimental progress (1989-1994) and commercial implementation , 1997 .

[15]  Bärbel Gerowitt,et al.  Development and control of weeds in arable farming systems , 2003 .

[16]  M. Liebman,et al.  Theoretical and practical challenges to an IPM approach to weed management , 2000, Weed Science.

[17]  K. J. Wright,et al.  Predicting the growth and competitive effects of annual weeds in wheat , 1990 .

[18]  Hans W. Griepentrog,et al.  Increased density and spatial uniformity increase weed suppression by spring wheat , 2005 .