Interactions between pre‐ and post‐emergence weed harrowing in spring cereals

Brandsæter LO, Mangerud K & Rasmussen J (2012) Interactions between pre‐ and post‐emergence weed harrowing in spring cereals. Weed Research52, 338–347.SummaryPre‐ and post‐emergence weed harrowing were studied in spring cereals in different environments and with two types of harrows in Norway during 2004–2006. The objectives were to investigate interactions between pre‐ and post‐emergence weed harrowing and the importance of harrow type. We hypothesised that pre‐ and post‐emergence harrowing interact positively, that a combination gives more stable weed control effects than pre‐ and post‐emergence weed harrowing used alone, and that a harrow type with bent tines is more aggressive and suitable on hard‐packed soils than a harrow with strait tines. The results only supported the last of these hypotheses. Post‐emergence weed harrowing controlled a certain percentage of the present weeds, and this percentage was not dependent on pre‐emergence weed harrowing. On average, pre‐emergence harrowing reduced weed density by 26% and weed biomass by 22%, while the average effect of post‐emergence harrowing was 47% on weed density and 41% on weed biomass. The combined effect of pre‐ and post‐emergence weed harrowing was 61% on weed density and 54% on weed biomass. The combination did not give more stable weed control effects than pre‐ and post‐emergence weed harrowing used alone. Pre‐emergence harrowing increased the average crop yield by 6.2%, post‐emergence harrowing by 4.0% and the combined effect was 10%. Crop yield was mainly increased on hard‐packed soils. Weed and crop responses varied strongly among experiments, but the efficacy of pre‐ and post‐emergence weed harrowing was positively correlated across experiments. Weed species composition was of minor importance regarding weed control. The study indicates that one aggressive post‐emergence cultivation may be as good as one pre‐emergence and one less aggressive post‐emergence cultivation. However, little is known about the interactions between cultivation at different crop and weed growth stages.