Using artificial canopies, several authors have shown that horizontally propagated and overall propagated radiation beneath the canopy differ substantially in spectral distribution in the red (R) and far red (FR) wavelengths. Given the lack of information about light quality under real crop canopies, the R:FR ratio of vertical and horizontal radiation beneath field‐grown maize, soybean and wheat was monitored until leaf area index (LAI) reached 4, 2.5 and 6.9, respectively.
A Li‐Cor 1800 spectroradiometer with a remote cosine receptor fitted with a quartz fibre‐optic light‐guide was used. To isolate radiation coming from a given direction, a black coated tube was fitted to the cosine receptor. The viewing angle was 15°. In open conditions, the values of R:FR from the upper hemisphere were between 1.07 and 1.20. For vertically and horizontally‐propagated light, average values were 1.22 and 0.75 respectively.
Beneath the canopy, both R:FR and photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) from the entire upper hemisphere decreased in relation to LAI and crop height. R:FR of the horizontal component were found to be generally much lower than the vertical, which decreased significantly only in the later measurements.
The lowest R:FR values were recorded under wheat and soybean canopies. Even the very low LAIs present at early development stages were enough to cause a sharp decrease of R:FR in the horizontal fluxes. Referring to the entire upper hemisphere, PPFD transmittance and R:FR as a percentage of the external references appeared well correlated.
Field tests of a prototype microwave-based weed killer machine were conducted on Abutilon theophrasti, Panicum miliaceum, lucerne and oilseed rape pure stands. The approach can be considered a thermal weed control method, the microwave radiation causing dielectric heating of plant tissue water that eventually kills the plant. The method could overcome the limitations of other thermal methods, such as fire risk with flaming or the heavy loads required for hot water treatments. Species were effectively controlled by microwave irradiation, but their sensitivity and the evolution of damage symptoms over time differed. Lucerne showed no sigmoidal response and was the least affected by the treatment, while a log-logistic curve expressed the doseresponse relationships of the other species quite well. The estimated microwave dose for a 90% dry weight reduction ranged from 1015 kJ m )2 in A. theophrasti to 3433 kJ m )2 in P. miliaceum. Energy cost evaluation indicated that increased efficiency is required for this technique to compete with other thermal methods. Microwave efficiency could be increased by a flux configuration that minimizes soil penetration and maximizes absorption by plants, which, in turn, depends on plant growth form.
A functional approach to predicting shifts in weed floras in response to management or environmental change requires the combination of data on weed traits with analytical frameworks that capture the filtering effect of selection pressures on traits. A weed traits database (WTDB) was designed, populated and analysed, initially using data for 19 common European weeds, to begin to consolidate trait data in a single repository. The initial choice of traits was driven by the requirements of empirical models of weed population dynamics to identify correlations between traits and model parameters. These relationships were used to build a generic model, operating at the level of functional traits, to simulate the impact of increasing herbicide and fertiliser use on virtual weeds along gradients of seed weight and maximum height. The model generated ‘fitness contours’ (defined as population growth rates) within this trait space in different scenarios, onto which two sets of weed species, defined as common or declining in the UK, were mapped. The effect of increasing inputs on the weed flora was successfully simulated; 77% of common species were predicted to have stable or increasing populations under high fertiliser and herbicide use, in contrast with only 29% of the species that have declined. Future development of the WTDB will aim to increase the number of species covered, incorporate a wider range of traits and analyse intraspecific variability under contrasting management and environments.
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