Seed germination of common and endangered arable weed species is differently affected by the herbicide metazachlor and its transformation products

• Autores: Garcia, Andrés; Eichberg, Carsten; Wendell, Anne-Kathrin; Pfeifer, Simon; Ludewig, Kristin; Donath, Tobias W.; Ulrich, Uta
• Año de publicación: 2023
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Fuente: Weed Research : 1-10 (First published: 26 March 2023)
• Materia: Germinación de las Semillas; Malezas; Herbicidas; Metazacloro; Paisaje Agrícola; Seed Germination; Weeds; Herbicides; Metazachlor; Agricultural Landscape
• Institución: Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria

High inputs of herbicides have caused the decline of arable weed species, which formerly evolved under less intensively managed crop lands. Arable weed species have adapted their germination strategies to respond to unfavourable periods. However, species considered endangered have more specific germination requirements. The herbicide metazachlor (MZ), in its formulated form Butisan®, is used for the control of annual and dicotyledonous weeds and degrades in the soil into two major transformation products (TPs): metazachlor oxalic acid (MZ-OA) and metazachlor ethane sulphonic acid (MZ-ESA). These TPs are often found in higher concentrations compared to MZ. We tested the effect of MZ and its TP on seed germination of four common and three endangered arable weed species present in Central Europe by setting up multi-factorial climate chamber experimental designs. We chose concentrations imitating field conditions and according to previously reported fraction occurrences in the topsoil. We assessed germination by measuring germination percentage, mean germination time and synchrony of germination. All germination variables were affected with increasing concentrations of MZ. Both, common and endangered species showed a decrease in germination percentage under the highest concentration of MZ. MZ and MZ-OA increased the synchronicity of endangered species, while both TPs decreased mean germination time of endangered species. Common species showed less significant differences when compared to the control and also had a less synchronised and longer germination time compared to endangered species. The observed response of common species to both MZ and TPs may be convenient in the face of short term unfavourable environmental conditions, such as those found in intensively managed arable lands. Our results highlight that the species-specific response of arable weeds to herbicides will further increase the dominance of common over rare arable weed species.
EEA Cesáreo Naredo
Fil: Garcia, Andrés. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Cesareo Naredo; Argentina
Fil: Garcia, Andrés. Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Lanscape. Research Unit of Forest Health and Biotic Interactions; Suiza
Fil: Eichberg, Carsten. University of Trier. Geobotany. Regional and Environmental Sciences; Alemania
Fil: Wendell, Anne-Kathrin. Kiel University. Department of Landscape Ecology. Institute for Natural Resource Conservation; Alemania
Fil: Pfeifer, Simon. Kiel University. Department of Landscape Ecology. Institute for Natural Resource Conservation; Alemania
Fil: Ludewig, Kristin. Justus Liebig University Giessen. Research Centre for Biosystems, Land Use and Nutrition. Institute of Landscape Ecology and Resource Management; Alemania
Fil: Ludewig, Kristin. Universität Hamburg. Institute for Plant Science and Microbiology; Alemania
Fil: Donath, Tobias W. Kiel University. Department of Landscape Ecology. Institute for Natural Resource Conservation; Alemania
Fil: Ulrich, Uta. Kiel University. Department of Hydrology and Water Resource Management. Institute of Natural Resource Conservation; Alemania