Non-chemical weed control in sugar beet crop under intensive and conservation soil tillage: I. Crop weediness

摘要

The effect of non-chemical weed control under different soil tillage on sugar beet crop weediness was investigated at the Experimental Station of the Lithuanian University of Agriculture in a silty loam Luvisol during the period of 2004-2005. The aimof the experiment was to establish the influence of soil tillage intensity, living and straw mulch on the number and dry mass of weeds in the sugar beet crop. Treatments of the trial were the following: L Soil tillage (factor A): 1. intensive (straw loosening, moldboard ploughing; control variant) (IT); 2. conservation (straw loosening) (CT); IL Non-chemical weed control (factor B): 1. hand weeding, twice (control variant) (HW); 2. spring barley living mulch (SBM); 3. annual ryegrass living mulch (ARM);4. white mustard living mulch (WMM); 5. spring oilseed rape living mulch (SRM); 6. winter wheat straw mulch (WSM).According to the results of investigations, in conditions of intensive soil tillage the highest choking of weeds was observed by annual ryegrass (ARM) and white mustard (WMM) living mulches. In sugar beet row spaces, which were mulched with winter wheat straw mulch (WSM) there was a large number of weeds but their mass was not high. Conversely, in conservation soil tillage conditions the lowest weed infestation and dry mass of weeds were observed in straw mulch (WSM) up to 4 cm. White mustard living mulch (WMM) also influenced weed dry mass decrease though its number was high.