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Weed Suppression in No-Till Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) by Prior Cropping of Summer-Annual Forage Grasses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

D. Raymond Forney ,
Chester L. Foy  and
Dale D. Wolf
D. Raymond Forney
Affiliation:
Dep. Plant Pathol., Physiol., and Weed Sci., Virginia Polytech. Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, VA 24061
Chester L. Foy
Affiliation:
Dep. Plant Pathol., Physiol., and Weed Sci., Virginia Polytech. Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, VA 24061
Dale D. Wolf
Affiliation:
Dep. Agron., Virginia Polytech. Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, VA 24061
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Abstract

A sorghum-sudangrass hybrid [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench. x Sorghum sudanense (P.) Stapf. ‘DEKALB SX17+’] (SSH) and foxtail millet [Setaria italica (L.) Beauv.] (FM) were evaluated for their effects on weed populations when grown for forage and as land conditioners prior to late-summer, no-till planting of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. ‘Arc’). Both grasses established well in no-till situations, except for FM when excessive mulch impeded seed placement or seedling summer-annual weeds were not destroyed at planting time. SSH was the better competitor; after both were planted into a dense stand of seedling summer-annual weeds, SSH outyielded the weeds while FM did not. Both grasses suppressed weeds and enhanced subsequent alfalfa establishment. Obtaining adequate alfalfa stands was not a problem in no-till seedings: seedling populations often exceeded 300/m2 3 to 6 weeks after planting. Lack of adequate weed control was associated with stand losses in which disease was also a factor. Biennial and perennial broadleaf species were the predominant weeds. Prior cropping of SSH or FM is a valuable option for growers wishing to establish alfalfa without tillage, particularly when summer forage is useful.

Keywords

Crop rotationsreduced tillageminimum tillageSorghum bicolor × sudanenseSetaria italica
Type
Weed Biology and Ecology
Information
Weed Science , Volume 33 , Issue 4 , July 1985 , pp. 490 - 497
Copyright
Copyright © 1985 by the Weed Science Society of America 

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References

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