Temporal dynamics of weed populations in arable fields using long-term site-specific weed control.

Experiments were conducted on five arable fields to study herbicide saving rates and temporal dynamics of weed populations in a crop rotation and in continuous maize using site-specific weed control from 1997–2003. Data related to weed population dynamics were collected in all crops and entered into a model to predict density of selected weed species for following years. Site-specific weed control resulted in high herbicide saving rates in fields with the crop rotation. Weed seedling density of grass weeds (monocots) and broadleaved weeds (dicots) did not increase in the rotation fields but did increase in continuous maize over the period of study. Predicted densities of Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P.Beauv. and Chenopodium album L. often corresponded closely to the observed data. Therefore, the model can help to develop management strategies for site-specific weed control.