Abstract
In the urge to mitigate the negative impact of weeds, like reduced yields, both agricultural and horticultural production have heavily relied on herbicides for weed control. This has led to vast environmental problems like human health risks and negative impact on biodiversity. Consequently, other measures relying more on the ecological properties controlling weeds have been explored. One such attribute is the competitive ability of crops. Intercropping is one method of increasing the competitive ability of crops against weeds regarding acquisition of light, nutrients and space. Field pea, Pisum sativum, and spring barley, Hordeum vulgare, are a good combination for intercropping with weed suppression effect. Sole cropping of oat, Avena sativa, has also a highly competitive ability against weeds. The weed seed bank is the viable weed seeds in the soil and evaluation of its composition can give indications of soil, crop and weed management. The aim of this thesis is to examine the weed seed bank of organic crop rotations in Alnarp, Sweden. The aim is also to see if there is an impact of intercropping of pea and barely on the weed seed bank compared to sole cropping of pea and oats and the weed management technique black fallow. The most abundant species in the weed seed bank in the organic crop rotations in Alnarp were similar with two other seed banks related to organic crop rotation in Scandinavia. The Alnarp seed bank had however a higher species richness. Analysis could not detect any significant difference in impact from the treatments intercropping pea+barley, sole crop pea, sole crop oat and black fallow on the weed seed bank. In the present study it was concluded that weed seed bank assessments could be an uncertain method if the treatments have similar characteristics and the assessment is done after only one cropping season. Treatments that have similar characteristics need to go on for a longer time for the effects to be visible in analysis. However, this study constitutes a good baseline for future research on the weed seed bank and the impact from intercropping and sole cropping.
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Claims 6
Claim · model-written summary
The Alnarp weed seed bank had species similar to two other Scandinavian organic crop rotation seed banks.
Verbatim
e0“The most abundant species in the weed seed bank in the organic crop rotations in Alnarp were similar with two other seed banks related to organic crop rotation in Scandinavia.”
Claim · model-written summary
The Alnarp seed bank had higher species richness.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“The Alnarp seed bank had however a higher species richness.”
Claim · model-written summary
The four crop and fallow treatments did not differ significantly in their impact on the weed seed bank.
- Taxon
- pea
Lathyrus oleraceuse0 - Treatment
- intercropping pea+barleye0
- Outcome
- weed seed banke0
- Direction
- any significant differencee0
- Comparator
- sole crop pea, sole crop oat and black fallowe0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Analysis could not detect any significant difference in impact from the treatments intercropping pea+barley, sole crop pea, sole crop oat and black fallow on the weed seed bank.”
Claim · model-written summary
Weed seed bank assessment may be uncertain after one season when treatments are similar.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“weed seed bank assessments could be an uncertain method if the treatments have similar characteristics and the assessment is done after only one cropping season.”
Claim · model-written summary
Similar treatments need longer duration for their effects to become visible in analysis.
- Outcome
- go on for a longer timee0
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“Treatments that have similar characteristics need to go on for a longer time for the effects to be visible in analysis.”
Claim · model-written summary
The study provides a baseline for future weed seed-bank research.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“this study constitutes a good baseline for future research on the weed seed bank and the impact from intercropping and sole cropping.”
The same questions in other papers
intercropping · weed · Lathyrus oleraceus (pea)Positive and negative results
1 paper in the same direction as this paper · 12 reporting no difference from an alternative
- positive
- positive
- positive
10 papers more in this group
See all 14 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.