Weediness and Nutrient Uptake by Weeds in Relation to the Soil Tillage

The study was carried out in 2006 in Keszthely, on the soil tillage portion of a long-term experiment. In this experiment, a combination of three cultivation methods [no-till drill, disk tillage, conventional tillage (plowed)] and five nitrogen (N) rates (N0: 0, N1: 120, N2:180, N3: 240, and N4: 300kgNha-1) were assessed. The trial was arranged in a split-plot design with four replications, and it was carried out during the first occurrence of maize in winter wheat-winter wheat-maize-maize rotation. Maize was sown on 10 May 2006; the weed survey was carried out using Balazs-Ujvarosi coenological method on 5 June 2006, after which weed control was implemented. Maize biomass of plants at the three to four leaf stage was determined at the same time. Sixteen weed species were identified in the no-till treatment, and 14 each in the in the conventional and the disk tillage treatments. Cultivation systems had a profound effect on the weediness of maize, with the lowest weediness occurring in the conventional tillage treatment. There was a strong interaction between N application and weed biomass that favored increased yield of maize over all cultivation treatments at higher N rates. The N content of weeds decreased as follows: conventional tillage disc tillage no-till.