Comparison of Weed Populations in Conventional Till and No-till Experimental Agroecosystems

경운 및 무경운 실험 농업생태계에서의 잡초개체군의 비교

The weed population dynamics as affected by contrasting conventional tillege (CT) and no-tillage (NT) practices with a minimum herbicide application was studied in Athens, Georgia, U.S.A. Common chickweed (Stellaria media) was the most common spring weed while johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense), sicklepod (Cassia obtusifolia), and pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus) accounted for 89∼97％ of net production during summers of 1983 and 1984. Total weed production in summer of 1984 was 2∼5 times greater than that of 1983. Weed production was greater in NT plots than in CT plots in summer of 1983, but reverse was the case in summer of 1984. In spring, net production in NT plots was greater than that in CT plots, especially, in 1985. Species diversity was consistently higher in NT plots, but in the wet summer of 1984 the pattern was different, with higher diversity in CT plots. Weed species diversity was higher in the spring rye crop than in the summer grain sorghum crop. The larger but less diverse weed populations in summer of 1984 indicated that these populations experienced competitive exclusion. Under the favorable summer moisture conditions the three dominant species grew so vigorously and quickly as to exclude many less common species that were able to survive under the drier conditions in 1983. The three dominant species not only excluded other weeds in 1984 but also greatly reduced crop production. The perennial johnsongrass was equally successful, or even more so, in CT plots as in NT plots. Plowing did not kill johnsongrass rhizomes but tended to break them up, thus increasing the number of individual plants that appear after the plowing. It means that johnsongrass was not controlled by the plowing. In summer of 1983, a moderate amount of weedy growth was maintained with a minimum amount of gerbicide application in NT and CT plots. It is possible that a small mixed weed population would be beneficial by providing cover for predatory and parasitic arthropods, and by reducing soil temperature and moisture losses.