Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 January 2017
Field and pot studies were conducted in Central New York to determine thepotential weed-management benefits of a buckwheat cover crop grown beforewinter wheat. Specific objectives were to determine buckwheat residueeffects on (1) emergence and growth of winter annual weeds; (2) wheatestablishment and yield; and (3) emergence of summer annual weeds in thespring following overwinter seed burial. In a field study, buckwheat wassown at two timings (July or August), mowed, and either incorporated or lefton the soil surface. Winter wheat was drilled into buckwheat residue inSeptember and weed and crop growth were monitored. In a complementary potstudy, four winter annual weeds were sown in soil removed from buckwheat andbare-soil plots at 0 or 15 d after incorporation and monitored for emergenceand early growth. To assess buckwheat residue effects on spring emergencefrom overwintering seeds, seeds of three weed species were buried inbuckwheat residue and bare-soil plots in the fall, exhumed in April, andevaluated for emergence. To investigate the mechanism for possible effectsof buckwheat residue on overwintering seeds, two levels each of seedtreatment (none or fungicide) and fertilization (none or 170 kg ha−1) were applied before burial. Buckwheat residue had nonegative effect on wheat yields but suppressed emergence (22 to 72%) andgrowth (0 to 95%) of winter annual weeds, although effects were often smalland inconsistent. Buckwheat residue had no effect on the emergence of buriedweed seeds in spring. However, fungicide treatment enhanced the emergence ofPowell amaranth seeds by 12.5 to 25.5% and of barnyardgrass seeds by 0 to12%. Our results suggest that buckwheat residue can contribute to weedmanagement in wheat cropping systems, but that further studies investigatingthe mechanistic basis for the inconsistent selective effects of buckwheatresidue on weeds are needed before buckwheat use can be optimized.
Current address: International Rice Research Institute—India, NASC Complex, Pusa, New Delhi.
Current address: Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1325.