Facilitation of weed seed predation by living mulch and cover crops

The approach of this study is to deliberately facilitate WSP after cereal harvest to maximise weed seed removal and prevent weed seeds from entering the soil seed bank. This is investigated by examining different cropping strategies that are based on combinations of disturbances, which affect weed seed availability, and plant cover. The factors ‘cover’, provided either by cover crops or living mulch, and disturbance (mainly of soil) were deliberately established to examine the following objectives: (a) to determine if cover crops and living mulch can prolong the activity period of weed seed predators and therefore support higher WSP rates in comparison to fallow and repeated stubble tillage; (b) to examine effects of ‘cover’ and ‘disturbance’ on overall weed suppression and (c) to identify weed seed predator groups that are positively affected by the established treatments. Findings can help producers to take crop management actions that promote WSP and reduce the soil weed seed bank.