Cover crop residue on the surface of soils in no-tillage systems can suppress weed emergence and growth. Although allelopathy often is invoked to explain weed suppression by residue, physical alterations of the seed environment could be important as well. This experiment was conducted to determine the light, temperature, and moisture con· ditions under cover crop residue. Hairy vetch (Yicia vil/osa Roth) and rye (Seca/e cerea/e L.) were desiccated with a contact herbicide and residue rates ranging from one-fourth to four times the natural residue biomass were established in experiments at Beltsville, MD and Ithaca, NY. Photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) was determined above and below residue at approximately monthly intervals after initiation of the experiment. Transmittance of PPFD through residue declined according to an exponential decay function of residue biomass. Trans· mittance was similar through hairy vetch and rye residue initially, but as the experiment progressed, transmittance through hairy vetch residue was greater than that through rye because of faster decom· position of hairy vetch residue. Spectral analysis from 400 to 1100 nm showed a slight increase in transmittance as wavelength increased resulting in a slight lowering of the red (660 nm) to far-red (730 nm) ratio relative to that of unobstructed sunlight. Soil maximum tem· perature and daily soil temperature amplitude were reduced by cover crop residue. Residue prevented the decline of soil water content dur· ing droughty periods. Results indicated that reductions in light transmittance and daily soil temperature amplitude by cover crop residue were sufficient to reduce emergence of weeds but that maintenance of soil moisture could increase weed emergence.

Mulches on the soil surface are known to suppress weed emergence, but the quantitative relationships between emergence and mulch properties have not been clearly defined. A theoretical framework for describing the relationships among mulch mass, area index, height, cover, light extinction, and weed emergence is introduced. This theory is applied to data from experiments on emergence of four annual weed species through mulches of selected materials applied at six rates. Mulch materials, in order from lowest to highest surface-area-to-mass ratio, were bark chips, Zea mays stalks, Secale cereale, Trifolium incarnatum, Vicia villosa, Quercus leaves, and landscape fabric strips. The order of weed species' sensitivity to mulches was Amaranthus retroflexus > Chenopodium album > Setaria faberi > Abutilon theophrasti, regardless of mulch material. The success of emergence through mulches was related to the capacity of seedlings to grow around obstructing mulch elements under limiting light conditions. Mulch area index was a pivotal property for quantitatively defining mulch properties and understanding weed emergence through mulches. A two-parameter model of emergence as a function of mulch area index and fraction of mulch volume that was solid reasonably predicted emergence across the range of mulches investigated.

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Summary: Résumé: Zusammenfassung Vicia villosa Roth (hairy vetch) or Secale cereale L. (rye) residue at 2 to 4 times the natural field rate reduced seedling emergence of a wide variety of weed species. However, the natural rate of residue was insufficient for control of most weed species. The form of the response of weed emergence to increasing rates of residue varied among species: emergence of some species showed a monotonic decline in response to increasing rates of residue whereas emergence of others increased at low rates before declining at higher rates. In addition to reducing number of seedlings, high rates of residue delayed the date of emergence. Seed size was generally not a good indicator of a species' ability to emerge through residue, although one very large seeded weed, Abutilon theophrasti. was especially insensitive to residue. V. villosa and 5. cereale did not differ greatly in their effect on weeds early in the growing season, but V. villosa decomposed more rapidly and allowed greater emergence later in the season. Effet de résidus de Vicia villosa Roth et de Secale cereale L. sur la levée des mauvaises herbes Des résidus de Vicia villosa Roth (Vesce velue) et de Secale cereale L. (seigle) à 2–4 fois la quan‐tité normale réduisaient la levée d'un large spectre de mauvaises herbes. Cependant la quantité normale de résidus était insuffisante pour lutter contre la plupart d'entre elles. La réponse de la levée des mauvaises herbes à des quantités crois‐santes de rVsidus différait selon les espèces. Pour certaines, la levée subissait un déclin monotone; pour d'autres, elle augmentait en présence de faible quantités de reésidus puis décroissait pour des quantités plus importantes. Ces dernières réduisaient la levée et la retardaient également. La taille des graines n'était généralement pas un bon indicateur de la capacité des espèces à lever au travers des résidus, bien qu'une trèAs grosse grains, Abutilon theophrasti Medic., était particu‐lièrement insensible aux résidus. V. villosa et 5. cereale ne différaient pas beaucoup dans leur effet sur les mauvaises herbes en début de saison, mais V. villosa se décomposait plus rapidement et permettait des levees plus importantes en fin de saison. Wirkung von Emterückständen von Vicia villosa Roth und Secale cereale L. aufdie Keimung von Unkräutern Durch 2‐ bis 4 fache Ernteräckstände der Be‐haarten Wicke (Vicia villosa) und des Roggens (Secale cereale) wurde die Keimung einer großen Zahl von Unkrautarten herabgesetzt. Normale Ernterückstandsmengen behinderten jedoch die Keimung nur unzureichen. Die Art und Weise der Reaktion der Keimung auf höhere Riick‐stände war von Art zu Art verschieden: Die Keimung einiger Arten nahm mit zunehmender Menge an Ernterückständen gleichmäßig ab, während sie bei anderen bei niedrigen Mengen anstieg, urn dann bei höheren Mengen abzunehmen. Zusätzlich zur Verringerung der Keimpflanzendichte wurde bei hohen Rück‐standsmengen die Keimung verzögert. Die Samengröße war im allgemeinen kein guter Indikator für die Fähigkeit ein...

A simple model is developed in which the density of weed seedlings emerging in a field is related to (1) the ability of seedlings to emerge from various depths in the soil, (2) the survival of seeds at different depths, and (3) the depth of seed burial in no tillage, rotary tillage, and plow tillage. Other tillage regimes are considered by analogy. Literature is reviewed to determine biologically reasonable functions describing seedling emergence, seed survival, and distribution of seeds with depth, and parameters of these equations are estimated from data in the literature. Problems related to the mathematical description of these phenomena are discussed, and it is noted that some commonly held beliefs regarding survival of seeds in the soil are mutually incompatible. Although many studies have investigated the persistence of seeds as a function of depth in the soil, few have distinguished death from the production of seedlings. The model indicates that in the first year following input of seeds to the soil, no tillage will have more seedlings than tillage, but in later years no tillage will likely have fewer seedlings unless innate or induced dormancy is high or seed survival near the soil surface is unusually good. If seed return is allowed, no tillage or minimum tillage will have more seedlings perennially. Recovery of good weed control following a year with substantial seed input may be easiest if the soil is plowed deeply to bury the seeds, and then shallow or no tillage is used in subsequent years to avoid returning seeds to the surface. Much of the literature on the effects of tillage on weed density is difficult to interpret because little indication is given of the vertical distribution of seeds in the soil at the beginning of the experiment.