Winter cover crops and their weed suppressive abilities

Asad Shabbir, Campbell Parish, Michael Walsh

Research output: Book chapter/Published conference paperConference paperpeer-review

Abstract

The management of annual weeds in cropping systems is a primary issue for growers in the northern grains region of Australia. Cover crops are a non-chemical weed management option that can be used in conservation cropping systems to reduce the reliance on herbicides. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of three winter cover crop species (forage oats, purple vetch, and tillage radish) in suppressing emergence and growth of annual winter weeds at two field sites near Camden, NSW. On average forage oats and purple vetch provided 42% greater suppression of early weed emergence than tillage radish at Bringelly (heavy soil site). At Lansdowne (sandy soil site), forage oats and tillage radish suppressed weed biomass by 67% and 88% more than vetch, at 80- and 120-days post crop emergence, respectively. At Bringelly, forage oats suppressed weed biomass on average 70% more compared to tillage radish and purple vetch at 80 days post crop emergence. There were no differences in weed suppression among the three crop species 120 days post crop emergence at Bringelly. The higher weed suppressive ability of different cover species was related to their ability to produce more biomass during early growth phase. This study has demonstrated that cover crops can be used to supress the emergence and growth of annual winter weeds
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 22nd Australasian Weeds Conference Adelaide
EditorsRachel Melland, Chris Brodie, Jason Emms, Leah Feuerherdt, Susan Ivory, Shauna Potter
Place of PublicationAustralia
Publisher Council of Australasian Weed Societies and the Weed Management Society of South Australia Inc
Pages131-134
Number of pages4
ISBN (Electronic)9780646865249
Publication statusPublished - 2022
Event22nd Australasian Weeds Society Conference: 22nd AWC - Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia
Duration: 25 Sept 202229 Sept 2022
Conference number: 22
https://caws.org.nz/22nd-australasian-weeds-conference/ (Conference website)
https://caws.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Adelaide-conference-programme-at-20-September-2022.pdf (Conference program)

Conference

Conference22nd Australasian Weeds Society Conference
Abbreviated titleA weed odyssey: Innovation for the future
Country/TerritoryAustralia
CityAdelaide
Period25/09/2229/09/22
OtherThe Weed Management Society of South Australia (WMSSA), on behalf of The Council of Australasian Weed Societies (CAWS), will be hosting the 22nd Australasian Weeds Conference (22AWC) at Adelaide Oval from 25-29 September 2022.
Internet address

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