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To improve understanding of relationships between crop diversity, weed management practices, and weed population dynamics, we used data from a field experiment and matrix models to examine how contrasting crop rotations affect velvetleaf. We compared a 2-yr rotation system (corn–soybean) managed with conventional rates of herbicides with a 4-yr rotation (corn–soybean–triticale + alfalfa–alfalfa) that received 82% less herbicide. In November 2002, a pulse of velvetleaf seeds (500 seeds m−2) was added to 7- by 7-m areas within replicate plots of each crop phase–rotation system combination. Velvetleaf seed, seedling, and reproductive adult population densities, seed production, and seed losses to predators were measured during the next year. Velvetleaf seed production was greater in the 4-yr rotation than in the 2-yr rotation (460 vs. 16 seeds m−2). Averaged over 12 sampling periods from late May to mid-November 2003, loss of velvetleaf seeds to predators also was greater in the 4-yr rotation than in the 2-yr rotation (32 vs. 17% per 2 d). Modeling analyses indicated that velvetleaf density in the 4-yr rotation should decline if cumulative losses of seeds produced in the soybean phase exceeded 40%. Achieving such a level of predation appears possible, given the observed rates of velvetleaf seed predation. In addition, no tillage occurs in the 4-yr rotation for 26 mo after soybean harvest, thus favoring seed exposure on the soil surface to predators. Models that included estimates of seed predation indicated that to prevent increases in velvetleaf density, weed control efficacy in soybean must be ≥ 93% in the 2-yr rotation, but could drop to 86% in the 4-yr rotation. These results support the hypothesis that diverse rotations that exploit multiple stress and mortality factors, including weed seed predation, can contribute to effective weed suppression with less reliance on herbicides.

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We conducted a 9-ha field experiment near Boone, IA, to test the hypothesis that yield, weed suppression, and profit characteristics of low-external-input (LEI) cropping systems can match or exceed those of conventional systems. Over a 4-yr period, we compared a conventionally managed 2-yr rotation system {corn (Zea mays L.)/soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]} with two LEI systems: a 3-yr corn/soybean/small grain + red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) rotation, and a 4-yr corn/soybean/small grain + alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)/alfalfa rotation. Synthetic N fertilizer use was 59 and 74% lower in the 3-and 4-yr systems, respectively, than in the 2-yr system; similarly, herbicide use was reduced 76 and 82% in the 3-and 4-yr systems. Corn and soybean yields were as high or higher in the LEI systems as in the conventional system, and weed biomass in corn and soybean was low (≤4.2 g m −2 ) in all systems. Experimentally supplemented giant foxtail (Setaria faberi Herrm.) seed densities in the surface 20 cm of soil declined in all systems; supplemented velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti Medik.) seed densities declined in the 2-and 4-yr systems and remained unchanged in the 3-yr system. Without subsidy payments, net returns were highest for the 4-yr system ($540 ha −1 yr −1 ), lowest for the 3-yr system ($475 ha −1 yr −1 ), and intermediate for the 2-yr system ($504 ha −1 yr −1 ). With subsidies, differences among systems in net returns were smaller, as subsidies favored the 2-yr system, but rank order of the systems was maintained. Disciplines Agronomy and Crop Sciences | Statistics and Probability CommentsThis is an article from Agronomy Journal 100 (2008): 600, doi:10.2134/agronj2007.0222. Posted with permission. RightsWorks produced by employees of the U.S. Government as part of their official duties are not copyrighted within the U.S. The content of this document is not copyrighted. O ne of the key questions facing agriculturalists in the 21st century is how to produce adequate amounts of food, feed, and farm income while protecting and improving environmental quality (Robertson and Swinton, 2005). Th e need to answer this question is particularly acute in the midwestern United States, one of the largest regions of intensive, rain-fed agriculture in the world. Crop production in this region currently relies heavily on synthetic N fertilizer and herbicides to manage soil fertility and weeds (National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2003, 2007a. Concomitantly, N and herbicides emitted from midwestern cropland are detected regularly in ground and surface waters, and are viewed by many analysts as important environmental contaminants that require improved management approaches (Goolsby et al., 1999;Dinnes et al., 2002;Gilliom et al., 2006). Th e midwestern United States has also been a major recipient of agricultural subsidy payments from the federal government (Environmental Working Group, 2007), and there are persistent questions concerning farm economic viability if these subsidies were removed due to global tra...