The control of perennial weeds in organic crop production needs reconsideration to minimise losses of nutrients through leaching. Long post-harvest periods with mechanical weed control hinder a plant cover with the purpose of taking up nutrients not being utilised by the main crop to maintain soil fertility. To meet the interests of nutrient and weed management, we suggest a new concept for the control of perennial weeds with propagules placed within the plough layer. The concept comprises uprooting and immediate removal of Elytrigia repens rhizomes with modified machinery to allow for a quick re-establishment of a plant cover to avoid longer periods of bare soil. Four passes with a modified cultivator where each pass was followed by rhizome removal and finally catch crop growing reduced E. repens shoot growth in a subsequent spring barley crop by 84 and 97%, respectively, in two field experiments on a sandy soil. Small remains of rhizomes in the soil following uprooting did not result in a higher shoot production rate than larger residuals as otherwise hypothesised. For the further development of the concept, we suggest focusing on lifting principles known from potato harvesters as effective uprooting and removal might be achieved with fewer passes
