ABSTRACT

Cornflower (Cyanus segetum Hill) used to be very frequent and abundant in winter wheat a few decades ago, but because of agricultural intensification it is now an insignificant weed, even classified as endangered in Western Europe. However, cornflower produces nectar that is a resource for pollinators and crop pest predators and parasitoids. To gain benefit from this resource, it is necessary to manage the presence of cornflowers and to maintain the population at a balance that ensures the beneficial ecosystem services whilst avoiding competition with the arable crops. This paper describes bispecific competition trials between cornflower and winter wheat in small experimental plots. The annual experimental conditions were highly variable, leading to plant densities that were too high or too low to estimate a competition threshold. The results provided relevant information on intraspecific competition among cornflower plants and its effect on the growth, the biomass and the yield of wheat. Conventional and organic farming could gain from growing some weeds like cornflower in the fields to provide ecosystem services for the crops.

摘要

矢车菊 ( Cyanus segetumHill）在几十年前曾经非常常见和丰富的冬小麦，但由于农业集约化，它现在是一种微不足道的杂草，甚至在西欧被列为濒危杂草。然而，矢车菊产生的花蜜是传粉媒介和作物害虫捕食者和寄生蜂的资源。为了从这种资源中获益，有必要管理矢车菊的存在并保持人口平衡，以确保有益的生态系统服务，同时避免与可耕作物的竞争。本文介绍了矢车菊和冬小麦在小型试验田中的双特异性竞争试验。年度实验条件变化很大，导致植物密度过高或过低而无法估计竞争阈值。结果提供了矢车菊植物种内竞争及其对小麦生长、生物量和产量的影响的相关信息。传统和有机农业可以通过在田间种植矢车菊等杂草为作物提供生态系统服务而获益。