Comparison of Conventional and Alternative Nursery Weed Management Strategies

Abstract

Soil cultivation (3 to 5 times/yr) and herbicide management (oxadiazon, 3.92 kg ai/ha), agricultural standards for reducing weed competition, were compared to three alternative nursery field management systems regarding weed suppression: ‘Norcen’ bird's-foot trefoil companion crop, ‘Wheeler’ winter rye cover crop/mulch, and grass sod (80% ‘Eton’ perennial ryegrass and 20% ‘Ruby’ red fescue). Field management treatment had a significant effect on observed weed populations. Weed densities were also subject to yearly variations caused by climate and endogenous weed life cycles. Herbicide management (oxadiazon) consistently provided the best control of undesired vegetation (0.3 weeds/m2) followed by the grass sod (0.7 weeds/m2), Wheeler rye cover crop/mulch (1.7 weeds/m2), Norcen bird's-foot trefoil companion crop (8.6 weeds/m2), and cultivated (55.7 weeds/m2) treatments, respectively. Although the grass sod treatment provided excellent control of undesired vegetation, as an alternative to cultivation and herbicide use, it proved to be excessively competitive with the nursery crop. The bird's-foot trefoil treatment quickly became infested with broadleaf weeds the eradication of which proved difficult. The Wheeler winter rye cover crop/mulch field management system provided acceptable weed control combined with other beneficial effects on the plant/soil environment. Results support the effectiveness of Wheeler winter rye and perhaps other allelopathic cover crop/mulch systems in controlling undesired vegetation in horticultural field production systems.

The Effects of Living Mulches on Tuber Yield of Potato(Solanum tuberosumL.)

“…Living mulches may reduce soil water evaporation and increase infiltration (Calkins & Swanson, 1998). Within this experiment, soil moisture levels remained lower in the conventional treatment than in all other treatments that were monitored from 8 July until the end of the growing season in 1997.…”

Living Mulch as a Tool to Control Weeds in Agroecosystems: A Review

“…Interest in alternative and sustainable agricultural production systems that require fewer production inputs is growing (Calkins and Swanson 1995). The current emphasis on reduced pesticide use has led to increased interest in alternative weed management methods (Bellinder et al 1994).…”

Artificial ground shelters for overwintering phytoseiid mites in orchards

“…A study conducted in the state of Mississippi (USA) indicated that cover-crop residues, namely desiccated wheat, in notill systems reduced diurnal fluctuations in soil temperature rather than the mean temperatures, producing decreases in the maximums and increases in the minimums compared to conventional tillage systems (Dabney et al 2001). Calkins and Swanson (1998) showed that cover-crop effects on soil temperature in Minnesota (USA) were most dramatic near the soil surface, whereas the effects were moderated with increasing soil depth. On the ground, phytoseiid mites are likely to inhabit ground vegetation and/or upper soil layers, but not in deep soil layers.…”