Modelling growth & competition for weed control
(Funding body: DEFRA)
Objectives of the project
The purpose of this project was to specify the optimal times of weed control in organic vegetable production by adopting a general mechanistically-based model, calibrated to data gained from conventional vegetable production. The overall aims were to reduce the costs of production in organic systems, increase yields and quality, and encourage the growers of conventional vegetable to adopt organic practices.
Approaches
- calibrate fully a growth and competition model for onions
- to use the model to determine the optimal mechanical weeding times in cabbage, carrot and onion
- to validate the model using historical and new experimental data for the same crops
- to test if the predictions of the model could be extended to other related species
- disseminate the results among organic growers
Results
- the simple mechanistic model gave good predictions of optimal weeding times
- the model could be incorporated into decision support software that would enable better targeting of weeding operations and help reduce the costs of production in organic rotations which include widely spaced crops
Publications:
- Grundy, AC; Turner,RJ (2002). Horticultural
weed control in organic systems - a modelling approach
(PDF 19Kb) in :
Proceedings of the COR UK Organic Research 2002 Conference, 26-28 March 2002, Aberystwyth. pp 295-298
- Turner,RJ; Grundy,AC (2002) Weed
control strategies in organically grown carrots
(PDF 12Kb) in :
Proceedings of the COR UK Organic Research 2002 Conference, 26-28 March 2002, Aberystwyth. pp 229-230
- Bond,W; Lennartsson,M (1999). Organic weed control? what farmers do.
Proceedings of BCPC Brighton Crop Protection Conference-Weeds, 939-944
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Garden Organic is the working name of the Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA).
We are not responsible for the content of external web sites.
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