GRAIN FROM MEDJYBIZH

During the archaeological research of the Medjybizh fortress (fig. 1), palaeoethnobotanical materials were found three times in its yard: in 1991, 2013 and 2015. The first definition was made by G. O. Pashkevich. Mostly rye was identified as well as bromus, sorrel and an ergot fungus claviceps purpurea. From materials ща 2015 about 30 ml of grain were provided, mostly rye, which is approximately 1800—2000 grains. This is a sample of the harvest of one year. Single kernels of hulled barley (5); emmer (2) and soft wheat (1) were identified. Weeds are represented by 3 species, they are convolvulus (19), brome grasses (11) and cleavers (7) (figs. 2—4). Identified weeds are concomitant for cultivated cereals and real anthropochores; they may be useful for therapeutic purposes. Brome grass is a winter plant that pollutes crops of winter rye and wheat. Fields pollution indicates a use of old arable fields: the population lived in this place continuously from the eleventh century. Consequently, the fields exploded about 2—3 centuries. Winter crops also show the use of old arable fields. According to the aggregate of weeds, these fields were located on high places with droughty soils. According to the analysis of topography and soil, these fields were in the western sector on the elevated plateau (supposedly the places of Dolzhok and Pereimska Dacha). Find of the rye also indirectly indicates a high level of development of agriculture. While plowing tools from Medzhybizh are unknown, we should assume the use of plow, which is the most progressive form of them.

Population Variability in the Response of Ripgut Brome (Bromus diandrus) to Sulfosulfuron and Glyphosate Herbicides

Ripgut brome has become a problematic weed in Spain both as a consequence of the continuous cropping of winter wheat through minimal tillage systems and its difficult control with selective herbicides. Ripgut brome populations collected in the regions of Castilla-León and Cataluña, two main cereal-growing areas in Spain, were screened in the greenhouse for response to sulfosulfuron, a selective herbicide for the control of brome grasses in wheat, and to glyphosate, often used as a pre-plant knockdown to control bromes in no-till systems. The fresh weight percentage relative to the untreated controls was calculated for each ripgut brome population and herbicide and was used as a measure of the herbicide response. Results showed variation in fresh weight response to both herbicides among populations. Fresh weight of the populations after sulfosulfuron was applied at the two-leaf stage at a rate of 20 g ai ha−1varied from 3% in the most susceptible population to 35% in the most resistant; the response was similar (6 to 38%) when the herbicide dose was reduced to half. For glyphosate at 800 g ae ha−1, fresh weight varied from 2 to 25% among populations, but the range of variation in fresh weight response increased as herbicide dose decreased to one half, with rates of from 4% to 90% among populations. The location of the collection site (inside the field or in-margin) showed no differences in response to both herbicides, but there was a statistically significant, geographically correlated differentiation for glyphosate response, with a greater resistance in the populations from Castilla-León. Undamaged plants were found after treatments with both herbicides, showing differences in resistance among plants. The study shows inter- and intrapopulation variability for the response of ripgut brome to sulfosulfuron and glyphosate. The implications for resistance development are discussed within the framework of relationships of the structure of the populations relative to their herbicide response.

Vineyard Weed Seedbank Composition Responds to Glyphosate and Cultivation after Three Years

This research compared effects of the weed control practice, soil cultivation, and the conventional practice, glyphosate application on weed seedbank, in a vineyard system. The experiment was conducted in a commercial wine-grape vineyard in the Napa Valley of northern California from 2003 to 2005. The annual treatments were “winter–spring glyphosate,” “spring cultivation,” “fall–spring cultivation,” and “fall cultivation–spring glyphosate,” and were applied “in-row,” under the vine. Composition of the weed seedbank collected in 2002 before treatment establishment did not differ among treatments. After 3 yr of weed treatments, detrended correspondence analysis indicated that the composition of spring cultivation and winter–spring glyphosate tended to differ from each other, but the remaining two treatments showed little differentiation. As determined by linear discriminant analysis, the specific weed species were associated with seedbanks of certain treatments. These were Carolina geranium, annual bluegrass, brome grasses, California burclover, and scarlet pimpernel, which do not pose problems with regard to physical aspects of grape production. Although ‘Zorro’ rattail fescue was ubiquitous among treatments, its distribution between depths in the cultivated treatments indicated that tillage provided some homogenization of seedbank along the vertical soil profile. The seedlings from the seedbank study were not congruent with those measured aboveground in the field, suggesting that both treatment and microclimatic effects in the field may have influenced germination, and thus, aboveground composition.

Seed biology of brome grass weeds (Bromus diandrus and B hordeaceus) and effects of land management

Aspects of seed biology of ripgut brome (Bromus diandrus) and soft brome (B hordeaceus) were studied in relation to land management practices Among the practices tested burning stubble had a detrimental effect on seed survival The majority of seeds close to the soil surface were charred or nonviable following a stubble fire Overall higher brome infestation was measured in notillage compared to minimum tillage or burning treatments More than 80 of the seeds of both species emerged in the field within the first couple of months after planting and full germination was achieved by spring Seed burial at depths from 1 to 20 cm did not significantly affect germination but seedling establishment and vigour was reduced with seed depth Implications of these results in management of brome grasses are discussed

Chemical control of brome grasses (Bromus spp) in cereals

Ripgut brome (Bromus diandrus) prairie grass (B willdenowii) and soft brome (B hordeaceus) are becoming serious weed problems in arable farms of New Zealand This paper reports results from three years of field experiments evaluating chemical treatments for brome control in cereal crops Ripgut brome was shown to be very competitive with moderate infestations reducing grain yields by 2530 A strong relationship (R2096) was found between seedling numbers of ripgut brome and final grain yield The study found several promising chemical treatments that offer a good degree of control These include preemergence applications of cyanazine terbuthylazine chlorsulfuron terbuthylazine and metribuzin The same herbicides applied postemergence were not as effective for brome grass control