Effective control of field foxtail

A central component of crop rotation is the alternation of winter crops with summer crops. This allows tillage at different times of the year - if only winter tillage is cultivated, no tillage takes place in spring. This ensures that certain weed species are promoted in their seed production and appear more frequently. Field foxtail, for example, can be reduced by about 20% in crop rotations with winter tillage only, if a summer tillage is also grown.

"Cover the weed and crop seeds with fine soil, but only bury them deep enough for them to emerge successfully" - that is the motto for the first stubble tillage. The cultivator with goosefoot shares cuts the soil over the entire surface from a working depth of 2cm and thus buries the volunteer seeds very shallowly. At the same time, root weeds and old weeds are cut off and dry out very quickly. The spring-toothed harrow with cultivating coulters ensures perfect straw distribution and mixes the straw and volunteer seeds flat with the soil from a working depth of 2cm. With their different characteristics, both implements create the perfect conditions for the emergence of volunteer cereals.

Whereas in stubble cultivation the volunteer seeds must not be buried too deep, in seedbed preparation no seeds from deep soil layers should be brought to the soil surface where they then germinate. The management that results from this is called "working shallower and shallower towards the seed". The idea behind this is that, for example, you carry out deep tillage and work shallower and shallower in the following operations - in this way you regulate the drop-out seeds in the upper soil layers and exhaust the seed potential. At the same time, you do not bring "new" weeds to the soil surface to germinate.

False seedbed follows the rules of seedbed preparation and must therefore be done very shallowly, as it is the last measure before sowing. The idea is to create a perfect seedbed for the volunteer seed so that as many weeds as possible emerge. The weeds are then buried as shallowly as possible at the cotyledon or cotyledon stage. Since all the volunteer seeds that were able to germinate at that time due to the (weather) conditions have emerged at this point, you give the following crop a head start over the weeds.

In order to control foxtail mechanically before sowing, the sowing date usually has to be postponed by about 2 weeks. This is negligible with regard to possible yield reduction, as weed pressure also costs yield, especially during the youth development of the crop. In addition, choose a sowing technique that moves as little soil as possible. This is to prevent seeds from being stimulated to germinate. Seed drills with leading roundabout or disc harrows should therefore be avoided. In addition, the choice of varieties plays a role - choose broad-leaved varieties that shade the soil.

Seed weeds can be controlled particularly early and effectively with the precision tine harrow. The advantage of our harrow is that weeds are buried and pulled out independently of the row and within the crop row. Due to the individual tine suspension of the TREFFLER precision tine harrow, work can be carried out particularly flat, both in autumn and spring. For successful use, the field foxtail must be harrowed at the cotyledon or cotyledon stage.