Abstract
Arable cropping practices including chemical weed control changed considerably over the last decades in south-western Germany affecting weed communities and weed-crop interference.
Data of weed control experiments in winter cereals were analysed to determine changes in weed frequencies, applied herbicides and yield over the last three decades. The effect of weeds on yield and economic thresholds (ETs) were determined based on 122 trials for wheat and barley.
In the 1980s, herbicides belonging to the HRAC-groups C, K, M and O; in the 1990s and 2000s to the HRAC-groups A, B and F were dominant. Nevertheless, weed communities were rather stable in winter cereals. Galium aparine and Stellaria media decreased in frequency. Alopecurus myosuroides frequency increased but densities remained stable. ETs ranged from 9.2 to 9.8 % and 4.5 to 8.9 % absolute weed coverage for wheat and barley correspondingly. Without weed interference yield increased by 0.16 t ha−1 a−1 for wheat and 0.08 t ha−1 a−1 for barley. In the control plots, where weeds competed with the crop, yields did not increase. Yields in the “best” herbicide treatment were 1.5–2.3 t ha−1 higher than in the control plots. This emphasizes the importance of effective weed control in winter cereals.
Zusammenfassung
In Südwestdeutschland unterlagen die landwirtschaftliche Praxis und insbesondere die chemische Unkrautkontrolle während der letzten Jahrzehnte einem starken Wandel und dadurch auch die Unkrautgesellschaften und die Unkraut-Kulturpflanzen Interaktion.
Unkrautbekämpfungsversuche über 30 Jahre an verschiedenen Standorten in Baden-Württemberg wurden ausgewertet, um Veränderungen in der Unkrauthäufigkeit, den applizierten Herbiziden und dem Ertrag in den letzten drei Jahrzehnten zu untersuchen. Die Unkrautertragswirkung und ökonomische Schadschwellen (ES) wurden anhand von 122 Weizen- und Gerstenversuche bestimmt.
In den 80-ern wurden Herbizide aus den HRAC-Gruppen C, K, M und O und in den 90-ern und ab 2000 aus den Gruppen A, B und F überwiegend eingesetzt. Dennoch blieben die Unkrautgesellschaften relativ stabil. Die Häufigkeit von Galium aparine und Stellaria media nahm ab. Die Stetigkeit von Alopecurus myosuroides hingegen nahm zu, dessen beobachteten Dichten blieben jedoch konstant. Die ES betrugen 9,2 bis 9,8 % Unkrautbedeckung für Weizen und 4,5 bis 8,9 % für Gerste. Ohne Unkrautkonkurrenz nahm der Weizenertrag um 0,16 t ha−1 a−1 und der Gerstenertrag um 0,08 t ha−1 a−1 zu. In den unbehandelten Kontrollparzellen mit Unkrautkonkurrenz konnte keine Ertragszunahme beobachtet werden. Der Ertrag der “besten” Herbizidvariante lag 1,5 bis 2,3 t ha−1 über dem Ertrag der unbehandelten Kontrolle. Eine wirksame Unkrautbekämpfung in Wintergetreide ist daher unabdingbar.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the institutions and the many people involved in the ‘Gemeinschaftsversuche Baden-Württemberg’ during the last four decades and special thanks to Cathrin Reichert for technical support.
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Keller, M., Böhringer, N., Möhring, J. et al. Changes in Weed Communities, Herbicides, Yield Levels and Effect of Weeds on Yield in Winter Cereals Based on Three Decades of Field Experiments in South-Western Germany. Gesunde Pflanzen 67, 11–20 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10343-014-0335-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10343-014-0335-8
Keywords
- Alopecurus myosuroides
- Economic weed thresholds
- Multi-site
- Multi-year
- Weed coverage
- Winter wheat
- Winter barley
- Yield loss