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Influence of tillage and crop residue on postdispersal predation of weed seeds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

Heather E. Cromar ,
Stephen D. Murphy  and
Clarence J. Swanton
Heather E. Cromar
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada N1G 2W1
Stephen D. Murphy
Affiliation:
Department of Environment and Resource Studies, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada N2L 3G1
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Extract

Field experiments were conducted from 1995 to 1997 in southern Ontario to determine the influence of tillage and ground cover on the quantity of postdispersal seed predation of common lambsquarters and barnyardgrass. Ground-dwelling invertebrates were the dominant seed predators and were responsible for 80 to 90% of all seeds consumed. Predation was highest in no-till and moldboard-plowed environments (averaging 32% in both) and lowest in chisel-plowed environments (averaging 24%). This indicates that the relationship between the level of disturbance and predation is nonlinear and that other factors, such as the mobility of invertebrates and food availability, may also play important roles in determining the quantity of seed predation. In no-till, the type of crop residue also influenced the quantity of predation, with highest seed predation found in plots with corn residue (averaging 31%) and lowest in those with soybean and wheat residue (24 and 21%, respectively). It is apparent that there is an optimum combination of residue quantity and quality that maximizes the quantity of seed predation. Based on the experimental design used in this study, no feeding preference by seed predators was detected between common lambsquarters and barnyardgrass. Density-dependent feeding, however, was evident for both species. Most biological control efforts have centered around predators with specific feeding habits. We contend that invertebrates with opportunistic feeding strategies that feed on weed seeds may be the most significant broad spectrum and natural form of biological weed control affecting weed population dynamics. Populations of beneficial arthropods should be conserved, and management strategies that augment the size of their natural populations should be encouraged.

Keywords

Barnyardgrass, Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv. ECHCGcommon lambsquarters, Chenopodium album L. CHEALcorn, Zea mays L. ‘Pioneer 3905’soybean, Glycine max L. ‘OAC Bayfield’winter wheat, Triticum aestivum L. ‘Harus.’Integrated weed management, weed population dynamics, Carabidae, invertebrates, small mammals, ECHCG, CHEAL
Type
Weed Biology and Ecology
Information
Weed Science , Volume 47 , Issue 2 , April 1999 , pp. 184 - 194
Copyright
Copyright © 1999 by the Weed Science Society of America 

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