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Assessment of the differential response of weeds to soil solarization by two methods

2009; Wiley; Volume: 9; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1445-6664.2008.00320.x

1445-6664

Ali El‐Keblawy, FATIMA AL‐HAMADI,

Plant Virus Research Studies

The efficacy of solarization in weed control under field conditions of the United Arab Emirates was evaluated by two methods: on‐farm weed assessment and a seed germination test. In the on‐farm weed assessment method, the weed frequency, density, and dry weight were compared in the solarized and non‐solarized plots that were cultivated with cabbage. Prior to solarization, the soil was artificially infested with the seeds of 10 weeds. Generally, the densities of seven species and dry weights of five species were significantly lower in the solarized plots as compared to the control. Launea mucronata , Capsella bursa‐pastoris , and Echinochloa colona were very sensitive to solarization, as they did not appear in the solarized plots. However, Portulaca oleracea and Melilotus indica were not significantly affected by soil solarization. In the second method, the germination was assessed for the seeds of four weedy species buried at three depths for different durations of solarization. The results confirmed the great sensitivity of L. mucronata and C. bursa‐pastoris seeds to solarization, as all had not germinated after 15 days of solarization, even at the 15 cm depth. The seeds of E. colona , however, were less sensitive after 15 days of solarization, especially at 7.5 cm and 15 cm, respectively. The seed germination method confirmed the resistance of the P. oleracea seeds to solarization. The results emphasized the importance of the germination test to provide accurate predictions about the spatial and temporal changes of the soil seed bank in solarized farms. This would help to determine the optimal duration of solarization in each farm, depending on the kind of weeds infesting the farm.