Use of crop rotation to effectively control the spread of common wild oats in different regions of Latvia Project leader Jevgenija Ņečajeva Team of project Regīna Rancāne Viktorija Zagorska Maksims Fiļipovičs Duration 2019 - 2023 Research focus 4. Development and adaptation of technologies for obtaining high-value agricultural and forest products, as well as in veterinary medicine Source of funding Knowledge transfer Project partners NGO "Farmers Parliament" Latvija (ZSA) Description of project The aim of research To demonstrate in practice that by implementing crop rotation with appropriate use of plant protection products in each crop, it is possible to reduce the spread of common wild oat. The tasks of project: To evaluate the contamination with wild oats in spring cereals in the selected fields in the demonstration farmsTo establish the demonstration trials in accordance with the crop rotation scheme and the plan of the demonstration, taking into account the soil fertility indicators, the intensity and type of farm managementTo evaluate the development of wild oats in the treatment where crop rotation is implemented and the control treatment by weed counts and to evaluate crop yield Results Crop rotation is a cornerstone of sustainable weed management. To evaluate its effectiveness, two demonstration trials were established on farms in the Kurzeme and Latgale regions to compare the efficiency of wild oat (Avena fatua) control in spring wheat monoculture versus a diversified crop rotation. The results indicated that both the choice of crops included in the rotation and the effectiveness of weed control measures are critical factors influencing wild oat proliferation. Including winter crops (winter wheat, winter oilseed rape) is beneficial, provided that wild oat control is efficient. Notably, spring wheat monoculture led to a significant increase in wild oat density, particularly in the Latgale region. Over four years, eight field days were held (one per year at each farm) to share findings with farmers.
