POTENTIAL CONTAMINATION OF THE SOIL WITH WEED SEEDS WHEN USING NO-TILL TECHNOLOGY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48612/FARC/2687-1254/002.3.16.2023Keywords:
No-till, cultivation technology, fertilizer, weeds, weed infestation, species composition, soil seed bankAbstract
The potential contamination of the soil with weed seeds and the weed infestation of crops were determined by a two-factor field experiment in the zone of unstable moistening of the Stavropol Territory in 2020 after two four-course rotations. It was found that
when cultivating crops using No-till technology, the soil contamination with weed seeds decreased by 32,9-37,4% compared to the recommended technology and amounted to 26240
pcs./m2 without fertilizer and 36820 pcs./m2 with fertilizer. At the same time, most of the
seeds (57,5-60,3% of the total number) were located in the upper five-centimeter soil layer,
while in the recommended technology, seeds were distributed more evenly in the arable layer.
The seeds of late spring weeds were predominant. In the recommended technology, their
share was 81,6-84,1% of the total number, in the No-till technology – 77,6 and 76,3%. The
second largest group was the seeds of early spring weeds – 8,7-11,7% in the technology with
tillage and 12,2-13,9% in the No-till technology. The species composition of seeds according
to the studied technologies did not have significant differences – 13 species were identified in
the recommended technology and 14 species of weeds were identified in the No-till technology. It was established that after the cultivation of close-growing crops, the soil contamination
with weed seeds was 3-5 times lower than after wide-row crops. This can be explained by the
higher competitiveness of close-growing crops, which is confirmed by the data on the weed
infestation of cultivated crops during the growing season. After herbicide treatment, 26-44
pcs/m2 with mass of 5-42 g/m2 grew in peas and winter wheat crops. At the same time, the
weeds were oppressed and occupied the lower layer. In the wide-row crops, the weed infestation was 44-84 pcs./m2. Weeds developed a large green matter (61-140 g/m2), as a result of
which they formed a larger number of seeds and replenished the soil bank.
