Effect of Elymus repens on yield of winter wheat, spring barley and faba bean in an organic crop rotation experiment

Summary

The impact of crop rotation, nutrient levels and use of catch crops on effect of E. repens on a sandy soil at Jyndevad on yield of winter wheat (2006), spring barley (2007-2008) and faba bean (2006-2008) was studied in an existing organic crop rotation experiment (Olesen et al., 2000; Rasmussen et al., 2006). Some of the objectives were to determine the yield loss at different levels of infestation of the weed, and to determine whether this relationship was influenced by the treatments.
For all crops, the treatments had a high impact on the yield. The two treatments that had no manure applied for up to 12 years consistently had the lowest yields. In spring barley, the two treatments with manure and with catch crops consistently had the highest yields. In faba bean, the treatment with manure and without catch crops had the highest yields. As for the effect of E. repens shoots on yield, in spring barley, there was a larger decrease in the system without grass clover. The same tendency was seen for winter wheat. For spring barley and faba bean, within each system (with or without grass clover), the yield in treatments without manure was less influenced by E. repens than in treatments with manure.