Could Mother Nature Be Helpful In Weed Control?

One of the many challenges farmers deal with on a regular basis is weed control.

 

Chris Willenborg, a Researcher and Assistant Professor at the University of Saskatchewan is looking at Mother Nature as a potential source for weed control.

 

On a recent Sask Pulse Growers podcast he talked about seed predators that can consume weed seeds both above and below ground.

 

“Insects we know are the majority of the seed predators, at least from the invertebrate standpoint. The other big one that we would have in Saskatchewan would be earthworms as well; we think consume weed seeds we know in other jurisdictions they do, we have no reason to believe they don't here. Other majors seed predators would be rodents, voles, things like that and then birds will also consume a lot of weed seeds.”

 

The goal is to try and help growers establish habitats that favour seed predators.

 

Willenborg says the idea goes back to the concept of Weed Seed Bank Management.

 

“The majority of what we look at so far has been sort of combining different agronomic practices, so things like seeding rate and row spacing. We have one project within this portfolio where we're looking at rotation and not just any rotation. We're looking at what happens when you combine a couple of different winter crops in a rotation, and you try to set your pulse crop up as the crop that needs the weed management.”