Comparison of weed control strategies in silage corn

Research question: Which weed control measures (herbicide-free, herbicide-reduced, and conventional chemical) prove successful in terms of weed elimination success and cost-effectiveness?

Location: Mühlewiese

Previous crop: Permanent grassland

Study Design

Trial setup: Strip trial
Number of trial strips: 6 strips of 15 meters each
Row spacing: 50 cm
Planted population: 90,000 seeds/ha
Planting depth: 5 cm

Six methods compared in practice

Method 1: Harrowing only

1x Pre-emergence harrowing

2x Harrowing after corn emergence

Method 2: Hoeing and Band Sprayer

1-2 Hoeing passes with camera controlled hoe

1x Herbicide application within the row

Method 3: Harrowing and Hoeing deluxe

1x Pre-emergence harrowing

1x Harrowing after corn emergence

1x Hoeing with camera controlled hoe

Method 4: Harrowing and hoeing reduced

1x Pre-emergence harrowing

1x Hoeing

Method 5: Cover cropping with Persian clover

1x Pre-emergence harrowing

1x Harrowing after corn emergence

1x Cover crop seeding

Method 6: Herbicide broadcast

1x Herbicide application

Applied technologies and equipment

• Automatic guidance system with RTK accuracy of ± 2cm

• Harrow (15 m), camera-controlled hoe, cover crop seeding with pneumatic fertilizer spreader