Integrating a complex rotation with no-till improves weed management in organic farming. A review

A rotation design to reduce weed density in organic farming

Weeds are a major obstacle to successful crop production in organic farming. Producers may be able to reduce inputs for weed management by designing rotations to disrupt population dynamics of weeds. Population-based management in conventional farming has reduced herbicide use by 50% because weed density declines in cropland across time. In this paper, we suggest a 9-year rotation comprised of ...

Weed Biology and Weed Management in Organic Farming

No-till Farming and the Environment

or no-till. Those who oppose this notion argue that no-till is equated with an abusively high use of herbicides and even genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are synonymous with unsustainable agriculture, with no-till taking all the blame. Unfortunately, both sides are right, and therefore, to get closer to the answer of the initial question, we have to take a deeper look into no-tillage syste...

Reduced Tillage and No-Till in Organic Farming Systems, Germany—Status Quo, Potentials and Challenges

Only 34% of all German farms apply reduced tillage (RT), while approximately 1% of the arable land is under no-tillage (NT). Statistics for organic farming are not available, but the percentages are probably even lower. The development of German organic RT and NT has been strongly driven by pioneer farmers for 40 years, and supported by field trials since the 1990s. The main motive for conversi...

Nitrogen Fertility and Weed Management Critical for Continuous No-Till Wheat in the Pacific Northwest1

No-till cropping is an option for growers needing to reduce soil erosion in the Palouse annual-cropped region of the Pacific Northwest, which is well suited for wheat production. A 6-yr field study was conducted to determine optimum levels of fertilizer and herbicide inputs in a no-till continuous wheat crop production system. Three levels of nitrogen (N) and two weed management levels (WML) we...