Round-leaved mallow (Malva pusilla) interference in spring wheat (Triticum aestivum and lentil (Lens culinaris) in Saskatchewan
1995
Makowski, R.M.D.
The competitive ability of annual round-leaved mallow was determined in spring wheat and lentil at Indian Head and Regina, Saskatchewan, in 1985 and 1986 using paired quadrats. Significant biomass and seed yield loss occurred in three of four tests in lentil and two of three tests in spring wheat. Differences in numbers of wheat tillers produced between weedy and weed-free plots were found in three of four tests. A two-variable model comprised of early season crop density loss and round-leaved mallow biomass best accounted for the majority of variation in crop yield loss for both lentil and wheat, and tiller density loss in wheat. In 1985 at Indian Head, where no yield loss occurred for either wheat or lentil, round-leaved mallow had been seeded immediately before the crop. Greater yield losses occurred at Regina, in the presence of an older, well-established infestation. In the years and locations with the greatest crop yield losses, round-leaved mallow emerged before the crop causing poor crop emergence. At Regina in 1986, crop yield losses were more than 60% in wheat and 90 to 100% in lentil because of large differences in crop density between weed-free and weedy subplots. Round-leaved mallow exhibited great variability in growth, producing more biomass per plant, more capsules per plant, and more capsules per gram of biomass in the less competitive crop, lentil, than in wheat. Density and biomass of round-leaved mallow were not correlated; with a density of 200 plants m-2, round-leaved mallow biomass in wheat ranged from 100 to 500 g m-2; while in lentil, from 200 to as high as 1000 g m-2, approximately double the range found in wheat. The type of round-leaved mallow infestation (newly seeded or well-established) and environmental conditions (mainly early season precipitation) account for differences between sites and between years.
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