TY - JOUR
T1 - Evaluation of New Harvesting Methods to Reduce Weeds on Arable Fields and Collect a New Feedstock
AU - Glasner, Christoph
AU - Vieregge, Christopher
AU - Robert, Josef
AU - Fenselau, Johanna
AU - Bitarafan, Zahra
AU - Andreasen, Christian
PY - 2019/5/5
Y1 - 2019/5/5
N2 - During harvesting, grain, straw, and cha with weed seeds are separated. The cha is returned to the fields, resulting in weed problems in the subsequent crops. We estimated the fraction of weed seeds a combine harvester could potentially harvest and used various methods to collect the cha and treat it with heat to kill weed seeds or reduce weed seed germination. Cha with weed seeds was placed on top of the straw and afterwards baled with the straw as a method to remove weed seeds from the field. We exposed cha with weed seeds to exhaust gas with various temperatures and durations to study whether this heating method could be used to reduce the input of viable weed seeds to the soil during harvesting. By collecting the shed weed seeds during the growing season, we estimated that a combine harvester could potentially harvest 41%, 11%, and 100% of the seeds produced in the growing season by Bromus hordeaceus, Cirsium arvense, and Galium aparine, respectively. When the cha was placed on top of the straw, 45% of the weed seeds stayed in the cha fraction on top of the straw swath after one day, 35% got into the straw swath, and 20% past through the swath to the ground. Therefore, baling straw with cha placed on the top only had a limited effect on reducing weed seed infestation. The study showed that thermal weed seed control during harvesting could potentially be applicable and incorporated in an integrated weed management approach.
AB - During harvesting, grain, straw, and cha with weed seeds are separated. The cha is returned to the fields, resulting in weed problems in the subsequent crops. We estimated the fraction of weed seeds a combine harvester could potentially harvest and used various methods to collect the cha and treat it with heat to kill weed seeds or reduce weed seed germination. Cha with weed seeds was placed on top of the straw and afterwards baled with the straw as a method to remove weed seeds from the field. We exposed cha with weed seeds to exhaust gas with various temperatures and durations to study whether this heating method could be used to reduce the input of viable weed seeds to the soil during harvesting. By collecting the shed weed seeds during the growing season, we estimated that a combine harvester could potentially harvest 41%, 11%, and 100% of the seeds produced in the growing season by Bromus hordeaceus, Cirsium arvense, and Galium aparine, respectively. When the cha was placed on top of the straw, 45% of the weed seeds stayed in the cha fraction on top of the straw swath after one day, 35% got into the straw swath, and 20% past through the swath to the ground. Therefore, baling straw with cha placed on the top only had a limited effect on reducing weed seed infestation. The study showed that thermal weed seed control during harvesting could potentially be applicable and incorporated in an integrated weed management approach.
KW - Agricultural residues
KW - Cha
KW - Combine harvester
KW - Environmental impact
KW - Feedstock
KW - Harvest Weed Seed Control
KW - HWSC
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85065970693&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/en12091688
DO - 10.3390/en12091688
M3 - Journal article
SN - 1996-1073
VL - 12
SP - 1
EP - 13
JO - Energies
JF - Energies
IS - 9
M1 - 1688
ER -