Crop rotation influence on annual and perennial weed control and maize productivity

Abstract

Crop rotation is important part of integrated weed control strategy. Sequences with diverse crops require application of different measures that influence weed community composition. The study was conducted in order to investigate the effects of crop rotation and low rate of herbicide application on maize infestation with annual and perennial weeds. A trial was settled on the experimental field of the Maize Research Institute Zemun Polje, Belgrade, Serbia in 2009. The basic treatment was a plant production system: maize continuous cropping (MC), maize-winter wheat rotation (MW), and maize-soybean winter wheat rotation (MSW). Different weed control methods represented treatments in sub-plots. Number of weed species and their biomass were estimated 45 days after the application of herbicides when rotation cycle was closed in each cropping system in 2011 for MW, in 2012 for MC and MSW. Each crop rotation differently influenced number of weed species and weed biomass. The best effects showed MSW rotation in which biomass of perennial and annual weeds was significantly lower after three years, especially with the application of recommended rate of herbicides. Crop rotation significantly increased maize yield - MW by 20.1% and MSW by 29.6% in comparison to maize monoculture.