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Maize‐dominated crop sequences in northern Germany: Reaction of the weed species communities
Author(s) -
Redwitz Christoph,
Gerowitt Bärbel
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
applied vegetation science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.096
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1654-109X
pISSN - 1402-2001
DOI - 10.1111/avsc.12384
Subject(s) - weed , cropping , agronomy , digitaria sanguinalis , echinochloa crus galli , echinochloa , biology , setaria , crop , arable land , weed control , agroforestry , ecology , agriculture
Questions Does the mere introduction of maize into the crop sequence change the weed species community? Does a growing share of maize cropping lead to a more problematic weed species community? Do we generally have to expect problematic weed species communities when maize is continuously cultivated? Location Northern Germany. Methods Weeds in 224 maize fields were surveyed in 3 years and management data of these fields collected for the previous ten cropping years. We arranged seven parameters describing maize cropping patterns and used them as constraining variables in redundancy analysis. Results The weed species community was immediately altered by the introduction of maize into the crop sequence. Of those weed species known to be adapted to maize, in our study Echinochloa crus‐galli and to a lesser extent Setaria spp. were strongly related to dense maize cropping patterns, other summer annuals were much less affected. Conclusions The spatial growth of areas dedicated to maize cropping will change the weed species communities and, in turn, the arable landscape. E. crus‐galli deserves particular attention due to its tendency to develop herbicide resistance and its positive reaction to dense maize cropping patterns.