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Weed Populations, Sweet Corn Yield, and Economics Following Fall Cover Crops

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Kelsey A. O'Reilly ,
Darren E. Robinson ,
Richard J. Vyn  and
Laura L. Van Eerd
Kelsey A. O'Reilly
Affiliation:
School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus, Ridgetown, ON N0P 2C0, Canada
Darren E. Robinson
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus, Ridgetown, ON N0P 2C0, Canada
Richard J. Vyn
Affiliation:
Department of Food, Agricultural & Resource Economics, University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus, Ridgetown, ON N0P 2C0, Canada
Laura L. Van Eerd*
Affiliation:
School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus, Ridgetown, ON N0P 2C0, Canada
*
Corresponding author's E-mail: lvaneerd@ridgetownc.uoguelph.ca
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Abstract

The effectiveness of cover crops as an alternative weed control strategy should be assessed as the demand for food and fiber grown under sustainable agricultural practices increases. This study assessed the effect of fall cover crops on weed populations in the fall and spring prior to sweet corn planting and during sweet corn growth. The experiment was a split-plot design in a pea cover–cover crop–sweet corn rotation with fall cover crop type as the main plot factor and presence or absence of weeds in the sweet corn as the split-plot factor. The cover crop treatments were a control with no cover crop (no-cover), oat, cereal rye (rye), oilseed radish (OSR), and oilseed radish with rye (OSR+rye). In the fall, at Ridgetown, weed biomass in the OSR treatments was 29 and 59 g m−2 lower than in the no-cover and the cereal treatments, respectively. In the spring, OSR+rye and rye reduced weed biomass, density, and richness below the levels observed in the control at Bothwell. At Ridgetown in the spring, cover crops had no effect on weed populations. During the sweet corn season, weed populations and sweet corn yields were generally unaffected by the cover crops, provided OSR did not set viable seed. All cover crop treatments were as profitable as or more profitable than the no-cover treatment. At Bothwell profit margins were highest for oat at almost Can$600 ha−1 higher than the no-cover treatment. At Ridgetown, compared with the no-cover treatment, OSR and OSR+rye profit margins were between Can$1,250 and Can$1,350 ha−1 and between Can$682 and Can$835 ha−1, respectively. Therefore, provided that OSR does not set viable seed, the cover crops tested are feasible and profitable options to include in sweet corn production and provide weed-suppression benefits.

La efectividad de los cultivos de cobertura como una estrategia alternativa para el control de malezas debe ser evaluada, en vista del incremento en la demanda de alimentos y fibras cultivadas bajo prácticas agrícolas sustentables. Este estudio evaluó el efecto de cultivos de cobertura de otoño en las poblaciones de maleza en la misma estación, en la primavera anterior a la siembra y durante el crecimiento del maíz dulce. El diseño del experimento fue de parcela divida con la rotación de chícharo-cultivo de cobertura-maíz dulce, con el tipo de cultivo de cobertura de otoño como factor principal de la parcela y con la presencia o ausencia de malezas en el maíz dulce como el factor de la parcela dividida. Los tratamientos de cultivos de cobertura fueron: un testigo sin cultivo de cobertura, avena, centeno, rábano oleaginoso, y rábano oleaginoso + centeno. En Ridgetown, durante el otoño, la biomasa de la maleza con los tratamientos de rábano oleaginoso fue 29 y 59 g m-2 menor que en el testigo y los tratamientos de avena y centeno, respectivamente. En la primavera, el rábano oleaginoso + centeno y centeno redujeron la biomasa de la maleza, la densidad y la riqueza de la flora por debajo de los niveles observados en la parcela testigo en Bothwell. En Ridgetown, en la primavera, los cultivos de cobertura no tuvieron efecto en las poblaciones de maleza. Durante la estación del maíz dulce, las poblaciones de maleza y el rendimiento del maíz, generalmente, no se vieron afectados por los cultivos de cobertura, siempre y cuando el rábano oleaginoso no produjera semillas viables. Todos los tratamientos de cultivos de cobertura fueron tan o más lucrativos que los tratamientos sin cobertura. En Bothwell, los márgenes de utilidad fueron mayores para la avena, con casi 600 dólares canadienses por ha-1, más que los que no tuvieron cultivo de cobertura. En comparación con el tratamiento sin cobertura, en Ridgetown, los márgenes de utilidad para el rábano oleaginoso y el rábano oleaginoso + centeno fueron entre 1,250 y 1,350 y entre 682 y 835 dólares canadienses por ha-1, respectivamente. Por lo tanto, siempre y cuando el rábano oleaginoso no produzca semillas viables, los cultivos de cobertura probados serían opciones factibles y lucrativas para incluir en la producción de maíz dulce y proporcionar beneficios en la supresión de malezas.

Keywords

Cereal rye, Secale cereale L.oat, Avena sativa L.oilseed radish, Raphanus sativus L. var. oleoferus Metzg. Stokespea, Pisum sativum L.sweet corn, Zea mays L.Catch cropsvegetable productionprofit marginscost–benefit analysisspecies richnessSimpson's index
Type
Weed Management—Other Crops/Areas
Information
Weed Technology , Volume 25 , Issue 3 , September 2011 , pp. 374 - 384
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

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