Australia
March 28, 2007
Five
GRDC supported trials have
demonstrated it's possible to erode a wild radish seed bank by
95 per cent in four to five years of complete or near complete
seed set control, which is an approximate annual seed bank
decline of 50 per cent.
Department of Agriculture and Food researcher, Peter Newman,
said leaving seeds at or near the soil surface minimised seed
dormancy, through increased pod decay and seed predation by
ants.
"Using two passes with a seeder fitted with knife points, we
cultivated trial sites with wild radish populations in Mullewa,
Wongan Hills, Mingenew, Merredin and Mt Barker," he said.
"Annual shallow cultivation maximises disruption of the
protective pod, leading to decreased dormancy and increased
germination, allowing growers to effectively erode a wild radish
seed bank in four years. However we estimate it would take up to
seven years for very big seed banks." |
|
