Effect of tillage systems on weed infestation of durum wheat

Weed infestation of durum wheat was determined in the systems of conventional tillage(CT), reduced tillage (RT) and herbicide tillage (HT). Cultivations measures performed after theharvest of the previous crop included shallow ploughing (at a depth of 10-12 cm) and pre-winterploughing (25-30 cm) in the CT system; only field cultivation (10-15 cm) in the RT system; andspraying with glyphosate (Roundup 360 SL) in the HT system. In the springtime, a tillage setconsisting of a cultivator, a string roller and a harrow (10-12 cm) was applied on all plots. It wasdemonstrated that wheat cultivation in the RT and HT systems was increasing the number andweight of weeds, compared to the CT system. The highest number of weeds occurred at themiddle level of wheat crop, whereas the highest air-dry weight was produced by the weeds atthe upper and middle crop levels. In the HT system, weed community was constitutedexclusively by short-term species, whereas in CT and RT systems – by short-term and perennialspecies.

Keywords:

Weed infestation indices , Level distribution of weeds , Tillage systems