Selection of cereals for weed suppression in organic agriculture: a method based on cultivar sensitivity to weed growth |
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| Authors: | Stephen Hoad Cairistiona Topp Ken Davies |
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| Institution: | (1) Crop and Soil Systems Research Group, Scottish Agricultural College, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JG, UK;(2) Land Economy and Environment Research Group, Scottish Agricultural College, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JG, UK;(3) Agronomy Select Services, Scottish Agricultural College, Bush Estate, Penicuik, EH26 0PH, UK |
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| Abstract: | Cereal cultivars conferring a high degree of crop competitive ability, especially against aggressive weeds, are highly beneficial
in organic farming as well as other farming systems that aim to limit the use of herbicides. In this study, thirteen winter
wheat cultivars, plus one spring wheat and one winter oat were assessed for their competitive ability at key growth stages,
across three seasons. The natural population of weed species was allowed develop without agronomic intervention. Weed suppression
ability for each cultivar (S
var) was calculated as the difference between weed growth in plots for each cultivar and the maximal weed growth (W
max) from adjacent uncropped areas. The sensitivity of S
var in response to changes in weed growth (S
varW) was derived from the linear regression coefficient of S
var plotted against W
max. There was significant variation in S
var between cultivars and strong evidence for cultivars to vary in S
varW. Amongst groups of cultivars with similar levels of S
var some could be defined as being of higher or lower sensitivity to changes in weed growth. Some cultivars also had relatively
good S
var at high levels of weed growth. The use of both weed suppression ability and sensitivity across different levels of weed growth
or weed populations has considerable potential for selecting new cultivars suitable for organic agriculture. Ideally new cultivars
will be selected on the basis of high S
var and/or low S
varW. This analysis provides the means to measure sensitivity of cultivar performance across a range of favourable and unfavourable
conditions. |
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| Keywords: | Weed suppression Cereal cultivars Winter wheat Variety selection Organic agriculture |
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