Carbon Balance Of A Crop Rotation Cycle: Overview Of A 4 Year Investigation

Conference (2009, September)

Treatment influence on herbicide resistance level of Belgian Alopecurus myosuroides populations (black-grass)

in Communications in Agricultural and Applied Biological Sciences (2009, May 19), 74(2), 505-514

Black-grass is a common grass weed, widely spread in Northern Europe and also in Belgium. For ages, it has been an increasing problem in industrial crops, especially winter cereals. Therefore, farmers ... [more ▼]

Black-grass is a common grass weed, widely spread in Northern Europe and also in Belgium. For ages, it has been an increasing problem in industrial crops, especially winter cereals. Therefore, farmers started to spray herbicide intensively and soon cases of failure occurred for different molecules and different modes of action. Black-grass populations have been tested in greenhouses to assess the influence of an herbicide treatment as to the resistance level regarding three different herbicides: chlortoluron, fenoxaprop-P and mesosulfuron+iodosulfuron. Black-grass seeds were collected in field trials in six locations in Belgium, on individuals which have survived the herbicide treatment. Each population comes from trial plots, measuring 2 meters wide by 5 meters long and characterized by a single or a combination of products. Herbicides sprayed were isoproturon, flufenacet+diflufenican, ACCase inhibitors and ALS inhibitors. Seeds were also collected in the untreated plots. The population present in these last ones corresponds to the former population, before the herbicide selection pressure was applied. In the glasshouse assay, this population was used as the standard population to compare with other populations issued from the same field. The 'R' rating system was set up with this population to assess the evolution of resistance level, year in, year out. Rothamsted and Peldon populations were also included as cross-reference. Each field population presented different behaviours towards herbicide applied in greenhouses and some cases of resistance can be highlighted. Generally, a reduction of treatment efficiency between field and greenhouse results was clearly visible for the whole of studied active ingredients. Indeed, a distribution shift of the populations towards higher resistance classes could be observed. This is particularly remarkable for active ingredients sharing the same mode of action. For example, it has been found that populations already sprayed with fenoxaprop-P on the field showed a higher resistance level to fenoxaprop-P than to mesosulfuron in the greenhouse test. [less ▲]

Interannual variability of CO2 fluxes and yield by a winter wheat crop (Triticum aestivum L.)

Poster (2009, April 20)

In this study, two winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cropping seasons were compared at the Lonzée (Belgium) experimental site. The site, crop management, sowing and harvest dates were similar on the two ... [more ▼]

In this study, two winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cropping seasons were compared at the Lonzée (Belgium) experimental site. The site, crop management, sowing and harvest dates were similar on the two years. The main difference between the seasons was due to to climate conditions. Continuous eddy-covariance fluxes, leaf scale photosynthesis measurements and crop development monitoring were performed during the whole vegetation periods. Globally, the two years were characterised by a higher than normal air temperature (9.9 °C and 11.9 °C respectively against 9.4 °C for standard) and lower than normal rainfalls (595.1 mm and 675.1 mm respectively against 772 mm for standard). In addition, the second season (2006-2007) was characterised by an exceptionally mild winter, dry and hot conditions in April and by humid and cloudy conditions during the last vegetation phases. These particular conditions induced earlier growth stages and the comparison of global fluxes gives contrasting results: gross primary productivity (GPP) was larger in 2007 but, on the contrary, net primary productivity (NPP) and crop productivity were lower on this year. The bad yields could be explained, on one hand by the drought in April 2007 that induced abnormally small flag leaves, on the other hand by cloudy and humid conditions from end May to harvest, that induced an assimilation reduction due to low radiation and favoured disease development. The simultaneous higher GPP and lower NPP and productivity in 2006-2007 raise the question of carbon allocation. It suggests that the excess carbon assimilated in 2006-2007 was not stored in grain or straw and thus that it would have been stored in the roots or in vegetation parts that decompose before the harvest. Further biomass measurements (and especially root biomass) are necessary to confirm this hypothesis. [less ▲]

CO2 fluxes exchanged by a 4-year crop rotation cycle

Poster (2009, April)

La fumure azotée

in Livre Blanc: Céréales - Gembloux (2009, February 18)

Bilan de l'année écoulée et recommandations pratiques

Implantation des cultures

in Livre Blanc: Céréales - Gembloux (2009, February 18)

Expérimentations, résultats, perspectives, recommandations pratiques (date de semis, préparation du sol, profondeur de semis, densité de semis, protection des semis)

Lutte contre les maladies: les résultats des essais "protection fongicide" réalisés sur escourgeon sur le site de Lonzée en 2008

in Livre Blanc: Céréales - Gembloux (2009, February 18)

Lutte contre les maladies: les résultats des essais "protection fongicide" réalisés sur escourgeon sur le site de Lonzée en 2008

Conference given outside the academic context (2009)

Appui scientifique à la mise en œuvre d’une méthode agri-environnementale : bande messicole.

Conference (2009)

Carbon sequestration by a crop during a four year rotational cycle

in Agricultural and Forest Meteorology (2009), 149