The effect of tillage simplifications and mineral fertilisation level on the number and distribution of weed seeds in soil

In the present paper, results of a study on the effect of a reduction in the number of ploughings in a crop rotation on the seed weed bank in the soil are presented. The study was carried out in the second and fourth year of a crop rotation (potato- spring wheat- pea- winter wheat). A reduction in the number of ploughings to three in the crop rotation decreased weed infestation of the plough layer, whereas when only one ploughing was made there was clearly more weed diaspores in the soil than after plough tillage. In the first period of the study, the mineral fertilisation level did not differentiate the weed seed bank in the soil, whereas after the end of the rotation its significant increase was noted as a result of more intensive fertilisation. In all the experimental treatments, diaspores of Chenopodium album, Viola arvensis, Galinsoga sp. and Apera spica-venti occurred in greatest numbers