No abstract

The crop system implemented on organic farms requires that crop residues are incorporated into the soil following the end of wheat cultivation. This system leads to a reduction in soil moisture and the creation of favourable conditions for the emergence of weeds. In contrast, covering the soil with 60 % crop residues was found to maintain soil moisture and lead to a reduction in dry weed mass, population density and population frequency as well as a reduction in population diversity, regardless of the initial weed flora before the implementation of different soil tillage systems. Finally, an increase in the prevalence of broad‐leafed weeds was observed as the level of soil cover increased.

Field experiments were conducted to determine the effect of tillage on the dry weight, frequency (PF), density (PD) and species composition of the weed population. Three tillage systems (CT: conventional tillage, MT: minimum tillage and NT: no tillage) were compared in a 3‐year rotation [wheat–vetch (green manure)–cotton–barley]. Decreases in PF, mean PD and number of species were observed under NT because in this system the soil remains undisturbed, and conditions are not suitable for seed germination. In contrast, annual weeds had a higher PF under the CT system, because they mainly propagate by seed and soil tillage creates more favourable growth conditions; thus they also had a higher PD. The highest PF and PD were found for the species Sinapis arvensis and Solanum nigrum. Perennial weeds had higher PD under the NT system, because their roots cannot be destroyed by soil tillage. The number of species was not altered in CT and MT, but was decreased in NT. In winter crops, annual species under CT and MT, and perennial species under NT were observed. In cotton crops, perennial species under CT and MT, and annual species under NT were observed. The mean PD of weed species in the first crop followed the sequence NT > MT > CT and in subsequent crops followed the reverse sequence CT > MT > NT.

No abstract

The root mass of winter barley (Hordeum vulgare cv. Niki) at growth stages 5, 9 and 16 of the Feekes scale increased from 100 % (0.272 mg cm–3 soil) to 132 % and 139 %, respectively. Root mass was always greater in no‐tillage (NT) plots than in ploughed‐tillage (CT) plots and was also greater where manure was applied in comparison to plots without manure. The root density at growth stages 5, 9 and 16 over all treatments was 0.197, 0.224 and 0.238 cm cm–3 soil, respectively. At growth stage 5, the root density in NT plots was 9 % greater than that in CT plots, and in rotary hoed (MT) plots it was 3 % greater. At this same growth stage, soil fertilization with NP, farmyard manure (30 t ha−1) and NP plus farmyard manure improved the root density of barley by up to 5, 10 and 11 %, respectively, in comparison with control plots. The diameter of barley roots was clearly biggest in CT plots, while in NT plots the thinnest roots were found. The mean diameter was 0.63, 0.75 and 0.78 mm at growth stages 5, 9 and 16, respectively (over all treatments). Significant correlation coefficients were found between root density (RD) and the soil properties bulk density (BD), porosity (P), penetration resistance (PR) and mean weight diameter of aggregates (MWD). For example, the highest r values were as follows: at growth stage 5, r=0.95 (P < 0.001) for P and r=0.86 (P < 0.001) for MWD; at growth stage 9, r=−0.97 (P < 0.001) for PR and r=0.96 (P < 0.001) for P, and finally at growth stage 16, r=0.97 (P < 0.001) for P and r=−0.97 (P < 0.001) for PR.