Cover crops terminated with roller‐crimper to manage Cynodon dactylon and other weeds in vineyards

• Published in: Pest management science Vol. 80; no. 4; pp. 2162 - 2169
• Main Authors: Cabrera‐Pérez, Carlos, Royo‐Esnal, Aritz, Català, Bruna, Baraibar, Bàrbara, Recasens, Jordi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01.04.2024; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Agricultural practices; Bermudagrass; conservation agriculture; Control methods; Cover crops; Cropping systems; Crops; Cynodon dactylon; Flora; Folding; mulches; Pest control; Shredding; Summer; sustainable viticulture; System effectiveness; Vineyards; Weeds; Wineries & vineyards; mulches; shredding; weeds; Bermudagrass; sustainable viticulture; conservation agriculture
• ISSN: 1526-498X; 1526-4998
• DOI: 10.1002/ps.7953

BACKGROUND Using cover crops in organic vineyards can provide many advantages, including weed suppression. However, their effectiveness may depend on the weed community, the cover crop species and the termination method. The most common practice for cover crop termination is shredding, but rapid residue decomposition can allow noxious species like Cynodon dactylon to proliferate during summer and compete with the vines. The use of roller‐crimpers as an alternative method can be effective in some cropping systems, but no studies have focused on their use in the inter‐row of vineyards. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of seven cover crops (spontaneous, Avena strigosa, Hordeum vulgare, Lolium multiflorum, Phacelia tanacetifolia, Sinapis alba and X Triticosecale) and two termination methods (shredding or roller‐crimper) in managing C. dactylon during summer. RESULTS In 2020, rolled A. strigosa, P. tanacetifolia and the spontaneous flora limited the coverage of C. dactylon more than shredding (increases of 3% and 18% in C. dactylon cover from July to September in rolled and shredded cover crops, respectively), while in 2021, rolling was better than shredding for all cover crop species in September (5% and 18% increases, respectively). CONCLUSION Roller‐crimping cover crops was an effective method to control C. dactylon in vineyard inter‐rows but it did not consistently work for all cover crops in both years. Our study is one of the first to test the efficacy of roller‐crimpers to manage summer weeds in vineyards. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry. Roller‐crimping cover crops may be better than shredding at controlling Cynodon dactylon, although its effectiveness can vary across years.