Browsing by Person "Moray, Ralph"

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Bromus-Arten in Winterweizen: Verbreitung, Bedeutung und Populationsdynamik
(2005) Moray, Ralph; Hurle, Karl
The increase of reduced tillage in agriculture and winter cereal dominated crop rotations has lead to a rise of annual and perennial grass weeds in the last decades. One of these are Bromus species that occur worldwide in cereal growing areas. In Germany they also attract more and more interest because of their increasing distribution. Therefore an inves-tigation was conducted to assess the current situation of Bromus species in Germany, competition, population biology and control. Additionally, control strategies were designed on the basis of analyses of population-dynamical parameters. A survey carried out in Germany, showed that Bromus sterilis and B. secalinus were found to be the dominant species. The problems that were predominantly mentioned were yield loss and difficulties at harvest which mostly appear in winter wheat. Their occurrence is closely connected with reduced tillage, early seeding and winter cereal dominated crop rotations whereas Bromus densities can be reduced effectively with a mouldboard plough or the increase of spring crops in crop rotation. In dicot. crops the chemical control was regarded as very good, whereas in cereals between good to sufficient. All of the survey participants expected a further distribution of Bromus species on arable land. Field trials were conducted on three locations over a period of three years to investigate the competition of B. sterilis, B. secalinus, B. tectorum and B. japonicus in winter wheat. Weed density and seeding date of winter wheat were considered for the species competition studies. The trials showed that distinct yield losses could be recorded in winter wheat depending on the different Bromus species. Thresholds where calculated based on the relationship between weed density and yield loss. The thresholds for the Bromus species in winter wheat were below the values given in literature for other grass weeds in winter cereals. This highlights the strong competitiveness of the species. Additionally the results showed that with late seeding the weed density decreases distinctively and thereby the yield loss can be reduced by half. Greenhouse trials on the efficiency of the three in Germany registered herbicides for the control of Bromus species showed, that a sufficient control of B. sterilis and B. secalinus could not always be achieved with the recommended dose. The simulation of the population dynamics showed clearly that with reduced tillage and direct seeding in a winter wheat monoculture without control measures a very fast increase of densities within two growing seasons up to a density-dependent level where high yield losses can be expected. In contrast mouldboard ploughing can control the species to 100 % as a depth of seeds of 10 cm already reduces emergence by half and seeds in the trials showed to have longevity in soil of no longer that 12 months. Moreover, it was demonstrated that the soil cultivation has a higher influence on the development of the weed population than the different seeding dates of winter wheat. The simulation under the influ-ence of herbicide application suggested, that it is possible to practice a winter cereal dominated crop rotation without yield losses. From the results of the investigations it can be concluded that Bromus as a problem in win-ter cereal dominated crop rotation in our latitudes will increase. In fact the control with available herbicides is not always sufficient, but for economical reasons integrated control strategies can not always be considered although quite a good control is given. Therefore one can presume that in future the control of Bromus in winter cereals still will be based on the use of herbicides and that these weed species will be as common in win-ter cereals as it became Alopecurus myosuroides and Apera spica-venti.