| This profile is part of "Sustainable Agriculture... Continuing to Grow", a publication developed to present some of the excellent sustainable agriculture research and education work done by universities, nonprofit organizations and other institutions in the Western Region over the past twelve years. Additional profiles and abstracts will be posted weekly, with links provided in the Table of Contents. |
Managing Weeds in the Crop Row Using Crop Competition, Cultivation, And Mulches
Timothy S. Prather
Weeds compete intensely within the crop row, reducing yield and increasing weeding costs. Management of weeds within the crop row with herbicides often is the most economical and effective method, but other methods are effective. Cultivation within the crop row is possible with specialized equipment in annual row crops, and in orchards and vineyards. Mulches are effective to control weeds by preventing light reaching seeds or by preventing plants from penetrating the mulch. Crop canopies can compete with weeds for light. These non-chemical methods can require substantial changes to the production system.
For annual crops, a weed strategy should be planned prior to planting the crop, as it may involve preplant treatment. For weedy fields, a plow like the Kverneland tumble plow will bury weed seeds that are near the soil surface to the plow depth, unlike a moldboard that does not move soil down more than 1 to 2 inches. Management of weeds in the crop row is possible using one of several in-row cultivation tools. The Bezzerides and Buffalo systems appear to be the most versatile but my experience is restricted to the Bezzerides equipment.
Timothy S. Prather
IPM Weed Ecologist
Statewide IPM Project, UCCE
9240 S. Riverbend Ave.
Parlier, CA 93648
Tel: (559) 646-6534
Prather@Uckac.edu
The work to create this publication was sponsored by the Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (Western SARE) program. Western SARE is an effort of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Since 1988 through federal fiscal 2000, the U.S. Congress has allocated more than $114.6 million to the federal SARE effort; Western SARE has received $26 million. The Western region includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming and the Island Protectorates of American Samoa, Guam, Micronesia and the Northern Mariana Islands.