Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-5r2nc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-11T18:55:56.332Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Crop Biomass Not Species Richness Drives Weed Suppression in Warm-Season Annual Grass–Legume Intercrops in the Northeast

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 July 2017

K. Ann Bybee-Finley ,
Steven B. Mirsky  and
Matthew R. Ryan
K. Ann Bybee-Finley*
Affiliation:
Graduate Student and Assistant Professor, Section of Soil and Crop Sciences, School of Integrative Plant Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850
Steven B. Mirsky
Affiliation:
Researcher, United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD 20705
Matthew R. Ryan
Affiliation:
Graduate Student and Assistant Professor, Section of Soil and Crop Sciences, School of Integrative Plant Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850
*
*Corresponding author’s E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Intercropping with functionally diverse crops can reduce the availability of resources that could otherwise be used by weeds. An experiment was conducted across 6 site-years in New York and Maryland in 2013 and 2014 to examine the effects of functional diversity and crop species richness on weed suppression. We compared four annual crop species that differed in stature and nitrogen acquisition traits: (1) pearl millet, (2) sorghum sudangrass, (3) cowpea, and (4) sunn hemp. Crops were seeded in monoculture and in three- and four-species mixtures using a replacement design in which monoculture seeding rates were divided by the number of species in the intercrop. Crop and weed biomass were sampled at ~45 and 90 d after planting. At the first sampling date, intercrops produced more crop biomass than monocultures in all but 1 site-year; however, weed biomass in intercrops was lower than monocultures in only 1 site-year. By the second sampling date, crop biomass was consistently greater in the intercrops than in the monocultures, and weed biomass was lower in the intercrops than in monocultures in 2 site-years. Although we observed several negative relationships between crop species richness and weed biomass, crop biomass was a more important factor than species richness for suppressing weeds. Despite the weak weed suppression from the two legumes compared with the two grasses, legume crops can provide other benefits, including increased forage quality, soil nitrogen for subsequent crops, and resources for pollinators if allowed to flower. On the other hand, if weed suppression is the top priority, our results suggest that monocultures of high biomass–producing grasses will provide more effective suppression at a lower seed cost than functionally diverse intercrops that include low biomass–producing legumes in warm-season intercrops.

Keywords

Cowpea, Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walppearl millet, Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.sorghum sudangrass, Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench × S. sudanense (Piper) Stapfsunn hemp Crotalaria juncea L.Cover cropsfunctional diversityforageintercroppingweed suppression.
Type
Weed Management
Information
Weed Science , Volume 65 , Issue 5 , September 2017 , pp. 669 - 680
Copyright
© Weed Science Society of America, 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Associate Editor for this paper: John L. Lindquist, University of Nebraska.

References

Literature Cited

Akemo, MC, Regnier, EE, Bennett, MA (2000) Weed suppression in spring-sown rye (Secale cereale)–pea (Pisum sativum) cover crop mixes. Weed Technol 14:545–549 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Balkcom, KS, Reeves, DW (2005) Sunn-hemp utilized as a legume cover crop for corn production. Agron J 97:26 Google Scholar
Ball-Coelho, B, Bruin, A, Roy, R, Riga, E (2001) Forage pearl millet and marigold as rotation crops for biological control of root-lesion nematodes in potato. 95:282–292 Google Scholar
Bastiaans, L, Paolini, R, Baumann, DT (2008) Focus on ecological weed management: what is hindering adoption? Weed Res 48:481–491 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baumann, DT, Bastiaans, L, Kropff, MJ (2001) Competition and crop performance in a leek–celery intercropping system. Crop Sci 41:764–774 Google Scholar
Baumann, DT, Kropff, MJ, Bastiaans, L (2000) Intercropping leeks to suppress weeds. Weed Res 40:359–374 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brainard, DC, Bellinder, RR, Kumar, V (2011) Grass–legume mixtures and soil fertility affect cover crop performance and weed seed production. Weed Technol 25:473–479 Google Scholar
Burdon, JJ, Thrall, PH, Ericson, AL (2006) The current and future dynamics of disease in plant communities. Annu Rev Phytopathol 44:19–39 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bybee-Finley, KA, Mirsky, SB, Ryan, MR (2016) Functional diversity in summer annual grass and legume intercrops in the northeastern United States. Crop Sci 56:2775 Google Scholar
Cardinale, BJ, Matulich, KL, Hooper, DU, Byrnes, JE, Duffy, E, Gamfeldt, L, Balvanera, P, O’Connor, MI, Gonzalez, A (2011) The functional role of producer diversity in ecosystems. Am J Bot 98:572–592 Google Scholar
Creamer, NG, Baldwin, KR (2000) An evaluation of summer cover crops for use in vegetable production systems in North Carolina. HortScience 35:600–603 Google Scholar
Creamer, NG, Bennett, M, Stinner, B (1997) Evaluation of cover crop mixtures for use in vegetable production systems. HortScience 32:866–870 Google Scholar
Curto, G, Dallavalle, E, Santi, R, Casadei, N, D’Avino, L, Lazzeri, L (2015) The potential of Crotalaria juncea L. as a summer green manure crop in comparison to Brassicaceae catch crops for management of Meloidogyne incognita in the Mediterranean area. Eur J Plant Pathol 142:829–841 Google Scholar
Dalerum, F, Cameron, EZ, Kunkel, K, Somers, MJ (2010) Interactive effects of species richness and species traits on functional diversity and redundancy. Theor Ecol 5:129–139 Google Scholar
Davis, D, Oelke, E, Oplinger, E, Doll, J, Hanson, C, Putnam, D (1991). Cowpea. In Alternative Field Crops Manual. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension, https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/cowpea.html Google Scholar
Dı́az, S, Cabido, M (2001) Vive la différence: plant functional diversity matters to ecosystem processes. Trends Ecol Evol 16:646–655 Google Scholar
[FAO] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (n.d.) Crotalaria juncea. http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/agpc/doc/gbase/data/pf000475.htm. Accessed December 4, 2014Google Scholar
Hauggaard-Nielsen, H, Ambus, P, Jensen, ES (2001) Interspecific competition, N use and interference with weeds in pea–barley intercropping. Field Crops Res 70:101–109 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayden, ZD, Brainard, DC, Henshaw, B, Ngouajio, M (2012) Winter annual weed suppression in rye-vetch cover crop mixtures. Weed Technol 26:818–825 Google Scholar
Haynes, RJ (1980) Competitive aspects of the grass-legume association. Pages 227–261 in NC Brady, ed. Advances in Agronomy. New York, NY: Academic Press Google Scholar
Hooper, DU, Vitousek, PM (1998) Effects of plant composition and diversity on nutrient cycling. Ecol Monogr 68:121–149 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ketterings, QM, Cherney, JH, Godwin, G, Kilcer, TF, Barney, P, Beer, S (2007) Nitrogen management of brown midrib sorghum × sudangrass in the northeastern USA. Agron J 99:1345 Google Scholar
Kilcer, TF, Ketterings, QM, Cherney, JH, Cerosaletti, P, Barney, P (2005) Optimum stand height for forage brown midrib sorghum × sudangrass in North-eastern USA. J Agron Crop Sci 191:35–40 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knops, J, Tilman, D, Haddad, N, Naeem, S, Mitchell, C, Haarstad, J, Ritchie, M., Howe, K, Reich, P, Siemann, E, Groth, J (1999) Effects of plant species richness on invasion dynamics, disease outbreaks, insect abundances and diversity. Ecol Lett 2:286–293 Google Scholar
Lee, D, Wayne, H, Buntin, GD, Dozier, W, Timper, P, Wilson, J (2017) Pearl millet for grain. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Google Scholar
Levine, JM, HilleRisLambers, J (2009) The importance of niches for the maintenance of species diversity. Nature 461:254–257 Google Scholar
Liebman, M, Dyck, E (1993) Crop rotation and intercropping strategies for weed management. Ecol Appl 3:92 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liebman, M, Mohler, CL, Staver, CP (2001) Ecological Management of Agricultural Weeds. London, UK: Cambridge University Press. 546 pCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, BB (2011) Resilience in agriculture through crop diversification: adaptive management for environmental change. BioScience 61:183–193 Google Scholar
McGiffen, M, Ehlers, J, Aguiar, J (2012) Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) cover crop. Cover Crops Database. http://asi.ucdavis.edu/programs/sarep/research-initiatives/are/nutrient-mgmt/cover-crops-database1. Accessed July 11, 2017Google Scholar
Miller, FR, Stroup, JA (2003) Brown midrib forage sorghum, sudangrass, and corn: what is the potential? Pages 143–151 in Proceedings of the 33rd California Alfalfa and Forage Symposium. Davis, CA: Department of Agronomy and Range Science Extension University of California, Davis Google Scholar
Mohler, CL, Liebman, M (1987) Weed productivity and composition in sole crops and intercrops of barley and field pea. J Appl Ecol 24:685–699 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Myers, RL (2002) Pearl millet: a new grain option for sandy soils or other moisture-limited conditions. Columbia, MO: Jefferson Institute Google Scholar
Newman, Y, Jennings, JV, Blount, A (2010) Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum): overview and management.Google Scholar
Picasso, V, Brummer, E, Liebman, M, Dixon, P, Wilsey, B (2008) Crop species diversity affects productivity and weed suppression in perennial polycultures under two management strategies. Crop Sci 48:331 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poffenbarger, H, Mirsky, S, Teasdale, J, Spargo, J, Cavigelli, M, Kramer, M (2015) Nitrogen competition between corn and weeds in soils under organic and conventional management. Weed Sci 63:461–476 Google Scholar
Rao, SC, Northup, BK (2009) Capabilities of four novel warm-season legumes in the southern Great Plains: biomass and forage quality. Crop Sci 49:1096–1102 Google Scholar
Riday, H, Albrecht, KA (2008) Intercropping tropical vine legumes and maize for silage in temperate climates. J Sustain Agric 32:425–438 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanderson, M, Skinner, R, Barker, D, Edwards, G, Tracy, B, Wedin, D (2004) Plant species diversity and management of temperate forage and grazing land ecosystems. Crop Sci 44:1132–1144 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scherber, C, Mwangi, P, Temperton, V, Roscher, C, Schumacher, J, Schmid, B, Weisser, W (2005) Effects of plant diversity on invertebrate herbivory in experimental grassland. Oecologia 147:489–500 Google Scholar
Schipanski, M, Drinkwater, L (2012) Nitrogen fixation in annual and perennial legume–grass mixtures across a fertility gradient. Plant Soil 357:147–159 Google Scholar
Schwinning, S, Parsons, A (1996) Analysis of the coexistence mechanisms for grasses and legumes in grazing systems. J Ecol 84:799–813 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sheahan, C (2014) Plant Guide for Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum). Cape May, NJ: USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Cape May Plant Materials Center. 4 pGoogle Scholar
Snapp, S, Swinton, S, Labarta, R, Mutch, D, Black, J, Leep, R, Nyiraneza, J, O’Neil, K (2005) Evaluating cover crops for benefits, costs and performance within cropping system niches. Agron J 97:322–332 Google Scholar
[SARE] Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (2012) Managing Cover Crops Profitably. 3rd edn. College Park, MD: SARE. 244 pGoogle Scholar
Szumigalski, A, Van Acker, R (2005) Weed suppression and crop production in annual intercrops. Weed Sci 53:813–825 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Teasdale, J (1996) Contribution of cover crops to weed management in sustainable agricultural systems. J Prod Agric 9:475–479 Google Scholar
Tilman, D, Reich, P, Knops, J, Wedin, D, Mielke, T, Lehman, C (2001) Diversity and productivity in a long-term grassland experiment. Science 294:843–845 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trannin, WS, Urquiaga, S, Guerra, G, Ibijbijen, J, Cadisch, G (2000) Interspecies competition and N transfer in a tropical grass–legume mixture. Biol Fertil Soils 32:441–448 Google Scholar
Vandermeer, J (1989) Ecology of Intercropping. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 237 pGoogle Scholar
Waide, R, Willig, M, Steiner, C, Mittelbach, G, Gough, L, Dodson, S, Juday, G, Parmenter, R (1999) The relationship between productivity and species richness. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 30:257–300 Google Scholar
Weiner, J, Freckleton, R (2010) Constant final yield. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 41:173–192 Google Scholar
Weston, L, Harmon, R, Mueller, S (1989) Allelopathic potential of sorghum–sudangrass hybrid (sudex). J Chem Ecol 15:1855–1865 Google Scholar
Willer, H, Yussefi, M, Sorensen, N (2010) The World of Organic Agriculture: Statistics and Emerging Trends 2008. London: Earthscan. 268 pGoogle Scholar
Wright, T, Wheeler, E, McKinlay, J (1998) Forage Sorghum–Sudan Grass. http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/98-043.htm. Accessed: September 16, 2014Google Scholar