Weed infestation of corn in organic crop rotation in the North-Eastern Forest steppe of Ukraine

Abstract

Elina Zakharchenko, Mykola Sobko, Oleg Kolisnyk, Svitlana Medvid, Lyudmyla Kriuchko, Tetiana Aralova, Voldemar Mostovenko, Roman Badzym, Vladyslav Hordiienko, Sergiy Mikitchenko

Weed density in corn crops cultivated under organic technology was assessed on typical medium-loam black soil. Winter wheat was the predecessor crop for corn. The study determined that the dominant weed species in the fields included Chenopodium album (white goosefoot), Echinochloa crusgalli (barnyard grass), and Amaranthus retroflexus (redroot pigweed). The effect of tillage on weed density was substantial, reducing Chenopodium by 79%, Echinochloa by 71%, Convolvulus arvensis (field bindweed) by 73%, Amaranthus by 53%, Polygonum (knotweed) by 46%, and other species such as Thlaspi by 27%, or with minimal impact. Plowing significantly decreased the presence of Chenopodium and Echinochloa, while Amaranthus density remained higher than in other variants. Convolvulus arvensis tended to thrive with shallow tillage at a depth of 12 cm-14 cm using a light cultivator.