ABSTRACT
Vineyard growth and grape yield can be significantly reduced by weeds, especially when these are located in the under-vine zone. Traditional weed management consists of recurrent tillage, which is associated with soil erosion and high fuel consumption, or herbicide applications, associated with damage to the environment and human health. In order to find alternative weed management methods, three field trials were carried out in Raimat (Lleida, NE Spain) with the aim of evaluating the suppressive effect of four mulches against weeds. Treatments included (1) straw mulch of Medicago sativa L., (2) straw mulch of Festuca arundinacea (L.) Schreb, (3) straw mulch of Hordeum vulgare L., (4) chopped pine wood mulch of Pinus sylvestris L., (5) mechanical cultivation and (6) herbicide application. The results showed that all mulches were efficient at controlling weeds (<20% of weed coverage) in the first year, compared with the two traditional methods, as long as the percentage of soil covered by mulches was high (>75%). In this way, pine mulch stood out above the straw mulches, as it achieved high soil cover during the three growing seasons of the study (>80%), with weed coverage values under 18%. This, together with the multiple benefits of mulches (improvements in the water balance and increases in soil organic matter, among others), make them a sustainable tool to be considered as an alternative to traditional under-vine weed management in vineyards.
ABSTRACT
The present work examines the effects of different integrated weed management (IWM) programs on multiple herbicide-resistant Papaver rhoeas populations in terms of effectiveness, profitability and carbon footprint. With this aim a trial was established in a winter cereal field under no-till in North-Eastern Spain during three consecutive seasons. Four IWM programs with different intensification levels, from less (crop rotation, mechanical control, and no herbicides) to more intense (wheat monoculture with high chemical inputs), were established. The different strategies integrated in the four programs were efficient in managing the weed after three years, with increased effectiveness after management program intensification. Whereas low input program (which includes fallow season) represented less economic cost than the other programs, on average, no differences were observed on carbon foot print, considered as kg CO2eq kg-1 product, between the different programs, except in the crop rotation program due to the low pea yield obtained. The results from this study show that in the search for a balance between crop profitability and reduction of the carbon footprint while controlling an herbicide resistant population is challenging, and particularly under no-till. In this scenario the short term priority should be to reduce the presence of multiple herbicide resistant biotypes integrating the different available chemical, cultural, and physical strategies.
