The Use of a Composition of Bacterial Consortia and Living Mulch to Reduce Weeds in Organic Spring Barley Cultivation as an Element of Sustainable Plant Production

Rafał Górski (), Robert Rosa, Alicja Niewiadomska, Agnieszka Wolna-Maruwka, Katarzyna Głuchowska and Anna Płaza
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Rafał Górski: Faculty of Engineering and Economics, Ignacy Mościcki University of Applied Sciences in Ciechanów, 06-400 Ciechanów, Poland
Robert Rosa: Institute of Agriculture and Horticulture, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Siedlce, 08-110 Siedlce, Poland
Alicja Niewiadomska: Department of Soil Science and Microbiology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, 60-637 Poznań, Poland
Agnieszka Wolna-Maruwka: Department of Soil Science and Microbiology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, 60-637 Poznań, Poland
Katarzyna Głuchowska: Department of Soil Science and Microbiology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, 60-637 Poznań, Poland
Anna Płaza: Institute of Agriculture and Horticulture, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Siedlce, 08-110 Siedlce, Poland

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 12, 1-18

Abstract: Weed infestation of cereal crops in organic farming is becoming a serious problem in agriculture. Sustainable agriculture requires the search for and implementation of crop management techniques that will reduce weeds without negatively impacting the environment. This research refers to the principles of integrated plant protection in sustainable agriculture, allowing the use of chemical plant protection products to be limited to the absolute minimum. Technology for growing spring barley based on the use of bacterial consortia in combination with living mulch (LM) can be an interesting approach to this problem. The aim of this three-year field research was to determine the effects of bacterial consortia and LM on the level of weed infestation in the organic spring barley crop. Two factors were tested in the experiment: bacterial consortia factors: control (without bacterial consortia); 1— Bacillus megaterium var. phosphaticum and Arthrobacter agilis ; 2— Bacillus subtilis , Bacillus amyloliquefaciens , and Pseudomonas fluorescens ; and LM: control (without LM); red clover; red clover + Italian ryegrass; and Italian ryegrass. This research demonstrated that the bacterial consortia tested significantly reduced both the biomass and number of weeds, including the following dominant weeds: Chenopodium album, Sinapis arvensis , Elymus repens , and Tripleurospermum inodorum . The use of LM also significantly reduced the weed infestation of spring barley stands. The lowest biomass and number of weeds, with the exception of Elymus repens , were recorded on objects with LM Italian ryegrass in spring barley in combination with bacterial consortium 2. The introduction of cultivation with LM Italian ryegrass or its mixture with red clover and the use of bacteria should be recommended for the practice of sustainable agriculture, which will reduce weeds through an ecological method.

Keywords: weeds; plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria; living mulches; organic farming; sustainable agriculture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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