Weed seedbank evaluating method to generate spatial distribution maps.

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Agronomy
• Weed Science

Background:

• Effective weed management relies on understanding weed seedbank distribution.
• Site-specific weed management requires accurate, spatially distributed weed seedbank maps.
• Current methods for weed seedbank evaluation can be time-consuming.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a rapid and practical method for weed seedbank evaluation.
• To generate spatially distributed weed seedbank maps for site-specific weed management.
• To determine the optimal timing for weed seedbank assessment in greenhouse trials.

Main Methods:

• Soil cores were collected at 0.20 m depth using a 20x20 m georeferenced grid (73 cores, 3 replicates).
• Collected soil samples were air-dried and subjected to seedling growth in a greenhouse environment.
• Weed seedling emergence was monitored, with peaks observed 119 days post-irrigation and after KNO3 application.

Main Results:

• High correlations were found between weed seedbank maps generated at 119 days and 392 days: 0.99 for *Brachiaria plantaginea*, 0.95 for *Commelina benghalensis*, and 0.85 for *Cyperus rotundus*.
• The *Brachiaria plantaginea* seedbank map at 35 days showed a strong correlation (0.97) with the map at 392 days.
• These findings indicate that early-stage seedling growth provides reliable data for mapping.

Conclusions:

• Greenhouse evaluation of seedling growth until the first emergence peak is sufficient for generating accurate weed seedbank maps.
• This method facilitates rapid and practical weed seedbank assessment.
• The developed approach supports efficient site-specific weed management strategies.