Impact of cereal rye cover crop on weed dynamics, herbicide fate and crop productivity in Wisconsin
2021
- Department of Agronomy, UW Madison
Project Media
Integrated weed management involves combining multiple weed management tactics into a
program that allows a farmer to achieve sustainable weed control. Simplification of production systems
with reliance on herbicides for post-emergence weed control has led to the development of herbicide
resistant weed populations and potential for the loss of herbicides as effective weed management tools
(Young, 2006). Systems which integrate CCs and herbicides for weed control reduce the selection
pressure for the development of herbicide resistance and can improve cropping system resiliency by
reducing soil erosion (Blanco Canqui et al., 2015), improving nutrient retention (Brandi Dohrn et al.,
1997), and improving soil physical quality (Steele et al., 2012). Field research was conducted in the 2019-
2020 growing seasons to study the use of integrated weed management with a fall established cereal rye
(Secale cereale) CC and Pre-emergence herbicides (PRE) in Wisconsin corn-soybean systems. Data
collected included early season weed biomass/density, visual weed control prior to post-emergence
herbicide application, crop yield, and soil persistence of PRE herbicides. Treatment combinations of PRE
herbicide (yes or no) and six soil management strategies including tillage, no-till, and four CC termination
timings/strategies (early, at plant, forage harvest at plant, and late) were included to collect 4 site-years of
data for each crop.