DESIGNING COVER CROP MIXTURES TO ENHANCE POTENTIAL WEED SUPPRESSION IN ORGANIC NO-TILL VEGETABLE SYSTEMS

摘要

No-tillage in vegetable systems can provide several benefits, but it can only be implemented if there is a powerful strategy to control weeds (Morse, 1999). Cover crops are an essential part of an integrated weed management strategy in no-till organicand low input vegetable systems (Altieri et al, 2011). However, few studies focus on no-tillage practices in organic vegetable systems in European environments, particularly in Mediterranean contexts (Isik et al., 2009). Cover crop effectiveness in weedcontrol, depend on crop traits linked with weed suppressive ability. Mixtures have been used to improve effectiveness of cover crops (Wortman et al., 2012; Smith et al., 2014, Finney et al., 2016). Nonetheless, to our knowledge, this is the first studyadopting a functional approach to the design of cover crop mixtures. Our objective was to investigate the effect of functional diversity and composition of cover crops in controlling weeds before transplanting aubergine (Solarium melongena L.), highlighting the relationship between functional traits and weed suppression.