Managing production environments in ways that promote weed community diversity may enhance both crop production and the development of a more sustainable agriculture. This study analyzed data of productivity of maize (corn) and soybean in plots in the Main Cropping System Experiment (MCSE) at the W. K. Kellogg Biological Station Long-Term Ecological Research (KBS-LTER) in Michigan, USA, from 19...

Integrated weed management (IWM) advocates the use of a combination of preventive, cultural, mechanical, and chemical tools to keep weed pressure below threshold levels that reduce yields and profits. Herbicide tolerant crops (HTCs) represent a relatively new weed control technology that can be used in an integrated weed management program. These crops, which enhance weed control options and gr...

Transgene introgression into crop weedy/wild relatives can provide natural selective advantages, probably causing undesirable environmental impact. The advantages are likely associated with factors such as transgenes, selective pressure, and genetic background of transgene recipients. To explore the role of the environment and background of transgene recipients in affecting the advantages, we e...

The smart sprayer, a local-vision-sensor-based precision chemical application system, was developed and tested. The long-term objectives of this project were to develop new technologies to estimate weed density and size in real-time, realize site-specific weed control, and effectively reduce the amount of herbicide applied to major crop fields. This research integrated a real-time machine visio...

Intercropped corn (Zeu mays L.) and soybean [Glycine mux (L.) Merr.] may produce more total yield per hectare than either grown separately, ie., land equivalent ratio (LER) >l. Low N fertility, limited moisture, and weed competition have each been reported to result in high land equivalent ratios. Thus it was hypothesized that intercropping advantages were greater under stress conditions. The o...

Despite weeds are a serious threat to promotion of organic farming, relatively less attention is given to research on weed management. This article explores a scope of integration of conservation agriculture for weed control and soil protection under organic farming. Limitation in the use of agro-chemicals under OF promotes intensive tillage for weed control. Mostly, tillage leads to depletion ...

The influence of soil parameters and weeder design on implement performance is discussed. Soil parameters that are important in this context are cohesion, adhesion and internal friction. Important weeder design parameters are blade angles of attack and approach, blade overlap and blade support configuration. An example of an animal-drawn weeder developed in Mexico is analysed. An evaluation of ...

To study the performance of soybean (Glycine max L.) cultivars in varying weeding regimes, a field experiment was conducted in 2010. The experiment was split plot in a randomized complete block design with 3 replicates. The four cultivars and two lines of soybean including: Sahar, Hill, Sari, Telar, 032 and 033 in main plot and weeding regime consist of no weeding (control), one weeding (35 day...

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 ...