Emergent weed communities associated with tomato production systems in Indiana

Abstract

Weed species respond to the cumulative effect of multiple practices employed within weed management systems. However, this response is rarely studied at the system level, and the relationships between weed communities and management systems in crops are not well understood. We used multivariate analyses to assess relationships among tomato management systems and weed species identified through on-farm sampling of 59 fields. Giant foxtail, common lambsquarters, prickly sida, and carpetweed were common in all systems. Eastern black nightshade was common in the conventional processing and mixed fresh-market systems but largely absent from the organic system. Barnyardgrass and goosegrass were common in the organic fresh-market system but not in the other systems. Canonical correspondence analysis identified distinct associations between specific species and the management systems. Common purslane was strongly associated with the rain-fed, mixed fresh-market system, and barnyardgrass, goosegrass, yellow nutsedge, and green foxtail were associated with the irrigated, organic fresh-market system. Indicator species analysis identified five species that were significant indicators of the organic, fresh-market system and one species that was a significant indicator of the rain-fed, mixed fresh-market system. Weed populations persist or increase when a set of species-specific environmental conditions are met. The association of weed species in this study with particular systems supports the hypothesis that weed communities are strongly affected by management systems.

Distantly related crops are not better rotation partners for tomato

“…The conditioning phase consisted of growing 36 plant species that varied in their level of phylogenetic relatedness to tomato (Table , Figure ). The crops chosen are common on diversified vegetable farms, whereas weeds were selected based on their prevalence in local tomato fields (Hillger, Weller, Maynard, & Gibson, ). Prior to planting, all seeds were sterilized in a 10% bleach solution for 60 seconds, rinsed four times with tap water and left to dry.…”

“…Currently, this field contains early successional vegeta- Figure 2). The crops chosen are common on diversified vegetable farms, whereas weeds were selected based on their prevalence in local tomato fields (Hillger, Weller, Maynard, & Gibson, 2006 Ten pot replicates were used for each plant species (i.e. 360 total pots), arranged in a randomized complete block design; however, not all treatments had ten replications at the conclusions of the study due to plant death (Table S1).…”

Bazı Toprak Herbisitlerinin Domates Fidelerini Şaşırtmadan Önce Yabancı Otları Kontrol Etme Potansiyeli

“…similar to our findings, grass frequently. Hillger et al (2006) noticed that Echinochloa crusgalli (L.) which is from the grass weeds seen in traditional experiment is problem in organic tomato fields. WCE showed the change in weed dry weight of weed control plots compared to plots where weed check.…”

Cover Crop Management Affects Weeds and Yield in Organically Managed Sweetpotato Systems

“…Weed species density and community composition are influenced by management systems (Hillger et al 2006;Hyvönen et al 2003). In established organic systems, a reduction in weed seed densities has been attributed to increased predation by insects (Menalled et al 2007) and possible degradation by soil microbes (Fennimore and Jackson 2003).…”