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Agronomy
Special Issues
Weed Biology and Ecology: Importance to Integrated Weed Management
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Weed Biology and Ecology: Importance to Integrated Weed Management

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Weed Science and Weed Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 July 2025 | Viewed by 4490

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Agnieszka Lejman

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Agroecology and Plant Production, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 25 Norwida St., 50-375 Wrocław, Poland
Interests: agriculture; biology and ecology of weeds; weed infestation control methods; plant–fungal interactions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Judith Wirth

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Herbology in Field Crops and Viticulture-Agroscope, Plant-Production Systems, Nyon, Switzerland
Interests: cover crops; weed suppression; allelopathy; cropping systems; herbicide resistance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Shouhui Wei

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Interests: weed; seed dormancy; germination behavior; herbicide resistance; population dynamics; adaptive evolution; weed management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Weeds are plants that are inexorably associated with agricultural crops. Despite their regulation and regardless of the method employed, their occurrence is recorded. This is due to their high survival and adaptive capacity. 

However, climate change, alterations in tillage systems, changes in weed control in plant cultivation and/or the introduction of new substances (inter alia, biostimulants) into plant cultivation have all had an impact on weed populations and their management. All these factors can affect weed growth and crop productivity in different ways. As such, understanding the potential behavior of weeds is an important aspect of tillage and plant cultivation; this would enable farmers to make decisions regarding weed management.

This Special Issue therefore aims to present recent research findings concerning changes in the biology and ecology of weeds with regard to plant cultivation and climate change.

Dr. Agnieszka Lejman
Dr. Judith Wirth
Prof. Dr. Shouhui Wei
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • weed biology and ecology
  • weed control
  • weed resistance
  • weed management
  • climate changes

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 1510 KiB  
Article
Seed Dormancy and Germination Responses to Different Temperatures of Leptochloa chinensis (L.) Nees: A Case Study with 242 Populations Collected from Rice Fields in East China
by Kai An, Ling Chen, Yiyang Liu, Haiyan Wei and Guoqi Chen
Agronomy 2024, 14(9), 2177; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14092177 - 23 Sep 2024
Viewed by 524
Abstract
Leptochloa chinensis (L.) Nees is a troublesome rice weed. We collected 242 L. chinensis populations from rice fields in eastern China and studied the duration of seed dormancy and the seed germination ability at different temperatures. All L. chinensis populations studied exhibited seed [...] Read more.
Leptochloa chinensis (L.) Nees is a troublesome rice weed. We collected 242 L. chinensis populations from rice fields in eastern China and studied the duration of seed dormancy and the seed germination ability at different temperatures. All L. chinensis populations studied exhibited seed dormancy. The periods required to reach 50% germination under optimal conditions were 31–235 days, with an average of 96 days. None of the populations germinated at 15 °C. Under constant temperatures of 20, 25, 30, and 35 °C, the average germination percentages of 242 populations were 0%, 71%, 79%, and 60% at 2 days after treatment (DAT), and were 56%, 84%, 88%, and 88% at 14 DAT, respectively. The duration of seed dormancy, as well as the germination ability of seeds, were significantly (p < 0.05) influenced by the agricultural region and the longitude and latitude of the collection locations. Under constant temperatures of 20 to 35 °C, the average germination percentages of seeds collected from transplanted rice fields were significantly higher than those collected from direct-seeded fields. This is the first study on seed germination biology of L. chinensis with multiple populations systematically collected from rice fields on a regional scale. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Weed Biology and Ecology: Importance to Integrated Weed Management)
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15 pages, 25479 KiB  
Article
A205V, D376E, W574L, S653T, and S653N Substitutions in Acetohydroxy Acid Synthase from Amaranthus retroflexus L. Show Different Functional Impacts on Herbicide Resistance
by Zhonghua Sun, Jianan Cong, Wenli Cao, Guang Yuan, Zhen Meng, Shen Wang, Chunjie Li and Chunhong Teng
Agronomy 2024, 14(9), 2148; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14092148 - 20 Sep 2024
Viewed by 466
Abstract
Amaranthus retroflexus L. is a troublesome dicot weed in crop fields and has developed high resistance to nicosulfuron in China. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of specific resistance mutations (A205V, D376E, W574L, [...] Read more.
Amaranthus retroflexus L. is a troublesome dicot weed in crop fields and has developed high resistance to nicosulfuron in China. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of specific resistance mutations (A205V, D376E, W574L, S653T, and S653N) of the acetohydroxy acid synthase enzyme (AHAS) on the resistance of A. retroflexus to nicosulfuron. The resistance mutations in A. retroflexus not only conferred 17.17- to 31.70-fold resistance to nicosulfuron but also greatly decreased AHAS sensitivity and increased AHAS binding affinity to substrate pyruvate, which mechanisms were primarily responsible for the observed A. retroflexus resistance. Molecular docking results indicated that these resistance mutations altered AHAS binding free energy with nicosulfuron. All the resistance mutations showed less sensitivity to feedback inhibition by branched-chain amino acids, but the mutations did not necessarily affect biosynthesis in A. retroflexus. This report to compares the various mutations of ArAHAS in vitro and contributes to understanding herbicide resistance in this field weed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Weed Biology and Ecology: Importance to Integrated Weed Management)
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12 pages, 2803 KiB  
Article
Genotype-by-Environment Interaction and Stability of Canola (Brassica napus L.) for Weed Suppression through Improved Interference
by Md Asaduzzaman, Hanwen Wu, Gregory Doran and Jim Pratley
Agronomy 2024, 14(9), 1965; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14091965 - 30 Aug 2024
Viewed by 786
Abstract
Canola (Brassica napus L.) is a profitable grain crop for Australian growers. However, weeds remain a major constraint for its production. Chemical herbicides are used for weed control, but this tactic also leads to the evolution of herbicide resistance in different weed [...] Read more.
Canola (Brassica napus L.) is a profitable grain crop for Australian growers. However, weeds remain a major constraint for its production. Chemical herbicides are used for weed control, but this tactic also leads to the evolution of herbicide resistance in different weed species. The suppression of weeds by crop interference (competition and allelopathic) mechanisms has been receiving significant attention. Here, the weed suppressive ability and associated functional traits and stability of four selected canola genotypes (PAK85388-502, AV-OPAL, AV-GARNET, and BAROSSA) were examined at different locations in NSW, Australia. The results showed that there were significant effects of canola genotypes and of genotypes by crop density interaction on weed growth. Among the tested genotypes, PAK85388-502 and AV-OPAL were the most weed suppressive and, at a plant density of 10 plants/m2, they reduced the weed biomass of wild radish, shepherd’s purse, and annual ryegrass by more than 80%. No significant differences were found in the primary root lengths among canola varieties; however, plants of the most weed-suppressive genotype PAK8538-502 exhibited a 35% increase in lateral root number relative to plants of the less weed-suppressive genotype BAROSSA. The analysis of variance revealed a significant influence of genotypes with PAK85388-502 and AV-OPAL performing the best across all the research sites. Results showed that canola genotypes PAK85388-502 and AV-OPAL were more weed suppressive than AV-GARNET and BAROSSA and may release specific bioactive compounds in their surroundings to suppress neighboring weeds. This study provides valuable information that could be utilised in breeding programs to select weed-suppressive varieties of canola in Australia. Thus, lateral root number could be a potential target trait for weed-suppressive varieties. Additionally, other root architecture traits may contribute to the underground allelopathic interaction to provide a competitive advantage to the crop. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Weed Biology and Ecology: Importance to Integrated Weed Management)
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13 pages, 4764 KiB  
Article
Impact of Soil Burial Depths on Survival of Weedy Rice Seeds: Implications for Weed Management
by Yu-Ge Tian, Li-Hao Pang, Xiao-Qi Jiang and Bao-Rong Lu
Agronomy 2024, 14(6), 1281; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14061281 - 13 Jun 2024
Viewed by 812
Abstract
Weedy rice (Oryza sativa f. spontanea) is a noxious weed infesting rice fields worldwide and causes great yield losses for cultivated rice. Effective management of this weed is essential for the world’s rice production. Yet, the management of weedy rice is [...] Read more.
Weedy rice (Oryza sativa f. spontanea) is a noxious weed infesting rice fields worldwide and causes great yield losses for cultivated rice. Effective management of this weed is essential for the world’s rice production. Yet, the management of weedy rice is challenging. One of the reasons is that shattered weedy rice seeds stored in soil often trigger great weed proliferation in the succeeding crop seasons. To study the survival of weedy rice seeds in soil seedbanks, we conducted 90-day soil burial experiments at different soil depths from 0–25 cm, using weedy rice seeds from Jiangsu Province in China. Results from two independent experiments under the rice field and laboratory conditions indicated significant differences in seed death ratios (SDRs) and induced seed dormancy ratios (ISDRs) of weedy rice at different soil burial depths. Weedy rice seeds exposed to the soil surface (0 cm burial treatment) had the highest SDRs and lowest ISDRs. An evident pattern of quickly declining SDRs with increased soil burial depths was identified from this study, suggesting rapid losses of seed viability on the surface and in shallow layers of soil. Our findings provide a useful guide for designing strategies to effectively control weedy rice by maintaining shattered seeds on the surface or in shallow layers of soil. The practices can easily be achieved through adopting the no-till farming system, which can substantially minimize viable weedy rice seeds as an important component in comprehensive weed management strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Weed Biology and Ecology: Importance to Integrated Weed Management)
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Review

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11 pages, 678 KiB  
Review
The Potential of Three Summer Legume Cover Crops to Suppress Weeds and Provide Ecosystem Services—A Review
by Stavros Zannopoulos, Ioannis Gazoulis, Metaxia Kokkini, Nikolaos Antonopoulos, Panagiotis Kanatas, Marianna Kanetsi and Ilias Travlos
Agronomy 2024, 14(6), 1192; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14061192 - 1 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1187
Abstract
Recently, there has been growing interest in the use of summer cover crops that can be grown during summer fallow periods of crop rotation. This study evaluates the potential of sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.), velvetbean [Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC.] and [...] Read more.
Recently, there has been growing interest in the use of summer cover crops that can be grown during summer fallow periods of crop rotation. This study evaluates the potential of sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.), velvetbean [Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC.] and cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.]. as three annual legumes summer cover crops. The main objective of this review was to conduct global research comparing these summer cover crops to investigate the benefits, challenges, and trade-offs among ecosystems services when implementing these summer cover crops. In European agriculture, there are three main windows in crop rotation when these summer legumes can be grown: Around mid-spring after winter fallow, early summer after harvest of a winter crop, and mid- to late summer after harvest of an early-season crop. All three legumes can suppress weeds while they are actively growing. After termination, their mulch can create unfavorable conditions for weed emergence. Sunn hemp and velvetbean cover crops can cause a reduction in weed biomass of more than 50%. In addition to their ability to suppress weeds, sunn hemp, velvetbean, and cowpea provide a variety of ecosystem services, such as improving soil health, quality, and fertility, controlling pests, and sequestering carbon. The review highlights their promising role in weed suppression and their contribution to sustainable agricultural practices. However, further research is needed to evaluate their performance in weed management and their environmental impact in field trials under different soil-climatic conditions, as cover cropping is an effective practice but highly context-specific. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Weed Biology and Ecology: Importance to Integrated Weed Management)
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