Weediness of agrocenoses in grain-fallow crop rotation depending on agrotechnological methods

Tambov Scientific Research Institute of Agriculture is a branch of the I.V. Michurin Federal State Budgetary Scientific Research Center, Tambov, Russia.

^* Corresponding author: yskorochkin@mail.ru

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to study the influence of basic tillage systems and chemicalization options on the weed infestation of agrocenoses in a grain-fallow crop rotation. The experiment was conducted at the Tambov Research Institute of Agriculture on typical, heavy loamy chernozem soil with a humus content of 6.8-7.0%. Five systems of basic tillage were studied. Three levels of mineral nutrition and two levels of plant protection were also investigated. The agrocenoses were characterized by a mixed type of weed infestation with a predominance of annual weed species. The surface treatment system led to an increase in agrocenosis infestation in terms of weed numbers by 27.6% and air-dry mass by 41.4%. Combined treatment systems helped reduce the number of weeds by 27.6 and 37.9%, and their biomass by 23.4 and 32.4%. The application of mineral fertilizers decreased crop infestation, while chemical weeding of crops reduced the number of weeds by 53.6-71.7% and the air-dry mass by 62.0-72.1%. Ploughless cultivation systems significantly reduced the productivity of arable land in the crop rotation. Traditional moldboard and combined systems provided equal output from 1 hectare of arable land.