Abstract:
The paper presents results of research on weed infe
station and health of spring wheat
grown in the three-year monoculture. The field expe
riment was carried out on loess soil,
classified as “good wheat complex” (soil class II).
The first experimental factor was the
type of Catch Crop (CC): (a) Object control, no cat
ch crop, (b) White mustard, (c) Tansy
phacelia, and (d) Mixture (bean+spring vetch+oat).
The second factor was Tillage System
(TS): (a) Plow Tillage (PT), and (b) Conservation T
illage (plowless tillage, CT). It was
proved that catch crops (especially white mustard)
could be an effective way to reduce the
negative effects of growing spring wheat in monocul
ture. This causes both the reduction
of the number and weight of weeds in the field, as
well as reduction of the proportion of
fungal pathogens infecting wheat plants. The regene
rating effects of catch crops in the
three-year wheat monoculture were more effective un
der conventional tillage conditions
compared to conservation tillage. It also showed th
at the conservation tillage system had
significant effect on increasing the quantitative i
ndicators of weed infestation of wheat
and increasing the number of weed seeds in the soil
. Conventional tillage with plowing
resulted in smaller biodiversity of weed species th
an conservation tillage system. Tillage
method did not cause differentiation degree of infe
ction of wheat stem base by a fungal
disease complex. Catch crops, in particular white m
ustard, proved to be an effective
method to reduce the degree of infection of spring
wheat by fungal pathogens.
Keywords:
Fungal diseases, Catch crops, Conservation tillage,
Tillage systems, White mustard
