Weed management in organic echinacea (Echinacea purpurea) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa) production

Abstract

Kristiansen, P.E., Sindel, B.M. and Jessop, R.S. 2008. Weed management in organic echinacea (Echinacea purpurea) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa) production. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. 23(2): 120-135. KW: organic; weed; Australia; mulch, paper; mulch, hay; tillage; plough, chisel; hand weeding; echinacea; lettuce; herbs; vege; costs Abst: Weed management is a major constraint in organic production. It can be expensive and time-consuming and severe crop yield losses may be incurred when weeds are not adequately controlled. Research on organic weed management (OWM) in herb and vegetable production is increasing internationally, although in Australia very little work has been done to assess current OWM knowledge among growers, and to test the efficacy and cost effectiveness of the weed management practices used by organic growers. The effect of hand weeding, tillage, hay mulch, pelletised paper mulch and an unweeded control treatment on weed growth, crop growth and cost effectiveness were evaluated in several field trials on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales using lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and echinacea (Echinacea purpurea Moench. [L.]). Weed management in lettuce was costeffectively achieved using cheaper weeding methods such as tillage. More expensive methods such as hand weeding and hay mulching controlled weeds well, but were less cost effective. For echinacea, cheaper in-crop weeding methods (e.g. tillage, unweeded control) had poor weed suppression and low crop yields, while the more expensive weeding methods, hand weeding and hay mulch, controlled weeds well and were cost effective. Paper mulch controlled weeds very well but, again, had lower yields and was therefore not cost effective. The results highlight several important advantages and disadvantages of currently used OWM methods in the field.

Advances and Trends in Organic Fruit and Vegetable Farming Research

“…In-row cover crops that are not too competitive with perennial fruit crops have often provided inconclusive results because of difficulties related to plant establishment and winter survival. Mulches such as natural materials, paper, and plastic are widely used for weed control (Thomas et al 2001;Kristiansen et al 2008).…”

Residue incorporation mitigates tillage‐induced loss of soil carbon in laboratory microcosms

“…At the end of the pre‐incubation, that is when treated soils approached wilting point, they were sieved, through 4‐mm mesh, to simulate tillage (Roberts & Chan, ; Calderón et al ., ; Kristensen et al ., ). The aim of sieving was to simulate tillage by disturbing soil in a manner that was analogous to field tilling with a rotary hoe, a common tillage implement used in vegetable production (Kristiansen et al ., ). To avoid smearing, soils were sieved when the soil moisture level dropped close to wilting point.…”

Comparison of organic and conventional managements on yields, nutrients and weeds in a corn–cabbage rotation

“…Therefore, crop residue incorporation could be a supplementary weed management strategy 19,20 to mechanical cultivation available to organic growers 16,17 . In slower growing crops such as corn and cabbage, the use of mulch for weed control can be cost effective, being cheaper than handweeding and more effective than common tillage practices 59 . Some authors have claimed that non-chemical weed control methods in cabbage such as mulching and cultivation are as effective as herbicides 58 .…”