Harvest Weed Seed Control: an addition to the organic farmers’ weed management toolbox скачать в хорошем качестве

Harvest Weed Seed Control: an addition to the organic farmers’ weed management toolbox

Het Desai, PhD, 1st year, Ecology and Environmental Science Major, Weed Science minor, Land Resources and Environmental Science, Montana State University Advisor: Lovreet Shergill, Assistant Professor, Southern Agricultural Research Center, Montana State University "Organic farmers take advantage of multiple tactics to develop integrated weed management systems. Recent innovations in weed management such as the Harvest Weed Seed Control (HWSC) could expand organic farmers’ toolboxes and reduce weed seed inputs into the seedbank. HWSC involves the collection and/or destruction of weed seeds that plants retain during crop harvest, which the harvester would potentially disseminate with the chaff and other crop residues. For the successful adoption of HWSC, information on weed seed retention at crop physiological maturity is required. Higher seed retention at crop physiological maturity would allow farmers to practice HWSC efficiently and. Previous studies suggest that HWSC has the potential to increase long-term sustainability. Seed shattering refers to the natural shedding of ripened seeds. While seed shattering is undesirable in domesticated crops, in weedy species, this evolutionary trait can be exploited to develop and expand innovative weed control tactics such as HWSC. In weeds, the timing and extent of seed shattering differ substantially and depend on the interactions among the genetic characteristics of the individual weed populations, the environmental conditions, and the practices used to manage agroecosystems. To estimate seed shattering and retention of weed species commonly found in organic small grain farms in Montana, we evaluated the three grass weed species: cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.), feral rye (Secale cereale L.), and wild oat (Avena fatua L.). Wheat plots were planted in a 500 m2 area in spring and winter at the Southern Agricultural Research Center of Montana State University. Weed seeds were broadcasted uniformly across the field immediately after planting. Seed traps, prepared with 1″ PVC pipes (130 cm × 30 cm, length × width), were installed around 15 individual weed plants a week before crop physiological maturity. The shattered seeds were captured weekly up to 28 days after crop physiological"