520 research outputs found
Current European weed control methods and strategies against annual and perennial weeds in organic farming
Review of physical and cultural weed control methods for organic farmin
Current achievements and future directions of physical weed control in Europe
This paper reviews major results achieved with physical weed control methods and strategies especially adapted for horticultural and agricultural crops. Mechanical methods, such as weed harrowing and inter-row hoeing, have provided promising results in cereals, pulse and oil seed rape, particularly when they are part of a strategy that also involves cultural methods such as fertiliser placement or crop seed vigour. In row crops, intra-row weeds constitute a major challenge, and research has mainly aimed at replacing laborious hand weeding with mechanization. A number of investigations have focussed on optimising the use of thermal and mechanical methods against intra-row weeds. And new methods are now under investigation such as robotic weeding for row crops with abundant spacing between individual plants and band-steaming for row crops developing dense crop stands
INTERGRATING PHYSICAL AND CULTURAL METHODS OF WEED CONTROL – EXAMPLES FROM EUROPEAN RESEARCH
The most recent advances in European research on non-chemical weed control methods and strategies for horticultural and agricultural crops are presented
Mechanical weed control in transplanted sugar beet
Results from two years experiments with mechanical weed control in transplanted organic sugar beet
Mechanical control of Cirsium arvense in organic farming
Infestation with Cirsium arvense in organic cropping is an increasing problem in many parts of Europe. A very expansive root system and the ability to form new aerial shoots from root buds facilitate formation of dense patches only a few years after establishment. In the present study, repeated mowing during the first part of the growing season used in combination with a competitive crop is suggested as a control strategy, aiming at diminishing the regenerative capacity of C. arvense. In general, the results from our two experiments showed a linear relationship between the number of mowing passes and the aboveground biomass of C. arvense in the subsequent year. A comparison of the two regression lines within each experiment showed that in both experiments there was no difference between the regression coefficients, whereas the intercepts differed significantly from each other, suggesting that the presence of a competitive crop, here a grass/white clover mixture, is likely to suppress the growth of C. arvense significantly. Hence, our results support the hypothesis that a continuous depletion of carbohydrates from the root system, caused by mowing and/or the use of a competitive crop, will diminish the regrowth capacity of the plant
The importance of crop competition in physical and cultural weed control strategies
The prentation focussed on the importance of crop competition in physical and cultural weed control strategie
Economic Aspects of Physical Intra-Row Weed Control in Seeded Onions
The paper presents a model to calculate the costs for weed control in organic row crops. The model makes it possible to analyse the economic consequences of different weed control strategies in row crops. Particularly the time needed for hand-weeding had a strong impact on the costs
Band-steaming for intra-row weed control
Steaming the soil prior to crop sowing has the potential of eliminating weed seedling emergence completely. Thus, steaming might be a perspective technique for intra-row weed control in non-herbicidal row crops of high value, where manual weeding can be very laborious. This paper presents some preliminary results with the effects of steaming on weed seedling emergence. The work is part of a joint project involving both biological and technical aspects of steaming. The overall objective is to develop an applicable technique for applying steam in bands corresponding to the intra-row area of a row crop. Band-steaming is expected to use much less energy as compared to current steaming techniques for arable usage
Visit to Australia and New Zealand
The report summarises experiences from a study tour to Australia and New Zealand where numerous organic farms and research stations were visited by the Danish scientist Bo Melande
Development of tools for automated physical weed control
Tools are being developed for automated physical
weed control in the close to crop area.
The most promising weed control concepts
are the so-called high precision tillage solutions
and thermal weed control by pulsed
lasers
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