Department of Agronomy, MNS University of Agriculture, Multan, Pakistan.
Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) and School of Agriculture and Food Sciences (SAFS), The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, Australia.
PLoS One. 2021 Jul 12;16(7):e0254584. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254584. eCollection 2021.
Summer weed species, including Echinochloa colona, are becoming problematic in the eastern grain region of Australia, but cover crops can be useful to suppress weeds during the summer fallow period. The present study evaluated the growth and seed production of E. colona grown alone or with four and eight cover crop plants per pot (i.e., 80 and 160 plants m-2). Four legume (cowpea, lablab, pigeonpea, and soybean) and two grass (forage sorghum and Japanese millet) cover crops were used. Interference by cover crops reduced the height, the number of leaves and tillers, inflorescence number, seed production, and biomass of this weed than when it was grown alone. Cover crops differed in their ability to suppress the growth and seed production of E. colona. The effect of cover crop density on the studied attributes was non-significant in most cases. Pigeonpea as a cover crop was the least effective in suppressing the growth and seed production of E. colona. In general, leguminous cover crops exhibited less suppression of E. colona than grasses. Forage sorghum was most efficient in reducing the growth of this weed. Forage sorghum and Japanese millet reduced E. colona leaf and tiller numbers per plant by 90 and 87%, respectively. These cover crops reduced E. colona leaf number to only 17 per plant as against 160 per plant recorded without cover crops. Inflorescence number per E. colona plant growing alone was as high as 48. However, it was reduced by 20-92% when this weed was grown with cover crop plants. E. colona's seed production was significantly suppressed by all the cover crops, except pigeonpea. Biomass of E. colona was suppressed largely by forage sorghum and Japanese millet compared to other cover crops. Among the cover crops, pigeonpea produced the lowest biomass of 11 g pot-1, and the highest biomass (114 g pot-1) was produced by forage sorghum. The study demonstrated the usefulness of cover crops, especially forage sorghum and Japanese millet, to suppress the growth and seed output of E. colona.
夏季杂草物种，包括稗草，在澳大利亚东部粮食产区变得越来越成问题，但覆盖作物可以在夏季休耕期间有助于抑制杂草。本研究评估了稗草单独生长或每盆 4 株和 8 株覆盖作物（即 80 和 160 株 m-2）的生长和种子产量。使用了四种豆科（豇豆、木豆、羽扇豆和大豆）和两种禾本科（饲料高粱和粟）覆盖作物。与单独生长相比，覆盖作物会降低这种杂草的高度、叶片和分蘖数、花序数、种子产量和生物量。覆盖作物在抑制稗草生长和种子产量方面的能力存在差异。在大多数情况下，覆盖作物密度对研究属性的影响不显著。作为覆盖作物的羽扇豆在抑制稗草生长和种子产量方面效果最差。一般来说，豆科覆盖作物对稗草的抑制作用小于禾本科。饲料高粱在减少这种杂草的生长方面最为有效。饲料高粱和粟使稗草的叶片和分蘖数分别减少了 90%和 87%。这些覆盖作物使稗草的叶片数减少到每株仅 17 片，而不使用覆盖作物时每株有 160 片。单独生长的稗草每株的花序数高达 48 个。然而，当与覆盖作物植物一起生长时，它减少了 20-92%。除了羽扇豆外，所有覆盖作物都显著抑制了稗草的种子产量。与其他覆盖作物相比，饲料高粱和粟在很大程度上抑制了稗草的生物量。在覆盖作物中，稗草的生物量最低，为 11 克盆-1，而饲料高粱的生物量最高，为 114 克盆-1。研究表明，覆盖作物，特别是饲料高粱和粟，可用于抑制稗草的生长和种子产量。
