It is well known that quackgrass is both very aggressive and persistent. In agriculture, many attempts have been made to eliminate this weed without success. Within the context of a sustainable agriculture, mechanical...It is well known that quackgrass is both very aggressive and persistent. In agriculture, many attempts have been made to eliminate this weed without success. Within the context of a sustainable agriculture, mechanical control of quackgrass represents an interesting alternative to chemical means. The use of a ＂C＂ shaped mounted tine cultivator, a rotary cross-harrow, and an ＂S＂ shaped trailed tine cultivator （alone or in combination） to control quackgrass in grassland was investigated. The rate of quackgrass present in each experimental plot was determined before and after the treatments using a one square meter quadrant. Also, the time required for each passage as well as the fuel consumption were computed. Results revealed that the fuel consumption and the time required by the ＂C＂ and ＂S＂ shaped tine cultivators to transport and expose the rhizomes to the sun on the soil surface highly depend on the quality of tillage during the first stubble passage. Also, subsequent tillage with the ＂C＂ shaped tine cultivator after a first passage with a rotary cross-harrow resulted in less fuel consumption and passage time. On the other hand, stubble and subsequent soil tillage with only the ＂C＂ shaped tine cultivator is the least successful method.展开更多
文摘It is well known that quackgrass is both very aggressive and persistent. In agriculture, many attempts have been made to eliminate this weed without success. Within the context of a sustainable agriculture, mechanical control of quackgrass represents an interesting alternative to chemical means. The use of a ＂C＂ shaped mounted tine cultivator, a rotary cross-harrow, and an ＂S＂ shaped trailed tine cultivator （alone or in combination） to control quackgrass in grassland was investigated. The rate of quackgrass present in each experimental plot was determined before and after the treatments using a one square meter quadrant. Also, the time required for each passage as well as the fuel consumption were computed. Results revealed that the fuel consumption and the time required by the ＂C＂ and ＂S＂ shaped tine cultivators to transport and expose the rhizomes to the sun on the soil surface highly depend on the quality of tillage during the first stubble passage. Also, subsequent tillage with the ＂C＂ shaped tine cultivator after a first passage with a rotary cross-harrow resulted in less fuel consumption and passage time. On the other hand, stubble and subsequent soil tillage with only the ＂C＂ shaped tine cultivator is the least successful method.
