Comb harrow: efficient weed control in cereals (OK-Net Arable Practice abstract) (original) (raw)
Problem
Weeds are a major problem in organic cereal production. The most common weeds are wild poppy, forking larkspur, cleavers, chamo-mile, common speedwell, podium Anthemis, combine, stork‘s bill, burdock, Bermuda grass and Sorghum halepense. Weed develop-ment before tillering can reduce yields, hinder the harvest, and in-crease weed pressure in the subsequent crop.
Solution
In organic farming, the use of herbicides is prohibited. Therefore, organic farmers depend on preventive weed control measures such as crop rotation and mechanical control measures for weed control. In many countries, the comb har-row is a standard tool for weed control in early stages of cereal growth. The aim is to achieve the lowest possible weed density until the end of tillering. Growth of problem weeds such as cleavers, chamomile, hollow tooth, field foxtail, mustard, etc. should be prevented until the end of stem extension. In Bulgaria, many farmers are not familiar with the comb harrow, and some have doubts about its efficiency. Hence, the effect of harrowing was tested in Bulgaria on 3 farms for 3 cereals (wheat, spelt and einkorn). Within each field, 2 experimental plots were created: one with comb harrow use, and a control plot without harrow use.