Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
6.3
3.6
Journals
Agriculture
Special Issues
Weed Community Dynamics and Integrated Management Techniques
share announcement

Weed Community Dynamics and Integrated Management Techniques

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Protection, Diseases, Pests and Weeds".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 August 2026 | Viewed by 717

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Robert Idziak

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Agronomy Department, Faculty of Agronomy, Horticulture and Biotechnology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Dojazd 11, 60-632 Poznań, Poland
Interests: crop protection; weed control; adjuvant; herbicide; weed resistance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Modern agriculture is aimed at providing high-quality plants for food and animal feed. Crops are exposed to numerous factors, including weeds, pathogens, and pests, affecting both the yield and quality of crops. It is important to learn about the changes in the composition of these organism communities and the relationships they have with the environment, habitat, crops, and human activity. It is crucial to define the direction of change and describe the interdependencies between these factors for the effective protection of crops against threats from weeds, pathogens, and pests. Understanding the factors affecting their development, species composition, and harmfulness will allow the development or improvement of currently used pest control methods. Consumer pressure forces producers to change their approach to plant protection, with an emphasis on the use of non-chemical methods or limiting the use of chemical methods.

The Special Issue will be devoted to modern technologies of crop production, with interdisciplinary research covering the biology of weeds, pests and pathogens, the species composition of their communities, and changes over the years. It will also include proposals for plant protection that fit into the latest technologies. The submitted proposals should include original scientific articles as well as review articles, opinions, or reviews.

Dr. Robert Idziak
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • pest management
  • weed communities
  • crops
  • pathogens
  • integrated plant protection
  • chemical and non-chemical methods

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

20 pages, 5255 KB  
Article
Weed Communities and Their Diversity Depending on the Age of the Plantation and Selected Plant Species Intended for Energy Purposes
by Tomasz R. Sekutowski, Miłosz Zardzewiały, Justyna Belcar and Józef Gorzelany
Agriculture 2026, 16(7), 778; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16070778 - 31 Mar 2026
Viewed by 385
Abstract
In the conducted study, the structure of weed communities and their dynamics were assessed and compared in relation to plantation age and the species of energy crop. Weed diversity within the stands of the investigated energy crops was evaluated in three-year cycles, from [...] Read more.
In the conducted study, the structure of weed communities and their dynamics were assessed and compared in relation to plantation age and the species of energy crop. Weed diversity within the stands of the investigated energy crops was evaluated in three-year cycles, from 2006 to 2024. The assessment of weed diversity in the stands of the studied energy crops was conducted in three-year cycles, i.e., in the first year of cultivation (2006—the year of plantation establishment), the fourth year of cultivation (2009), the seventh year of cultivation (2012), the tenth year of cultivation (2015), the thirteenth year of cultivation (2018), the sixteenth year of cultivation (2021), and the nineteenth year of cultivation (2024). The species composition of weed communities and the abundance of individual weed species were determined. The diversity and dominance patterns of weed communities occurring in Salix viminalis, Miscanthus × giganteus, and Phalaris arundinacea were described using two indices: the Shannon–Wiener diversity index and the Simpson dominance index. As a result of the conducted observations, it was found that weed abundance, species diversity, and weed infestation dynamics depended on the energy crop species and the age of the plantation. Greater interannual variability was observed in weed abundance, whereas species richness remained relatively more stable between years. The highest species diversity was recorded in the Salix viminalis plantation, where a total of 53 weed species were identified. In contrast, considerably fewer taxa were found in Miscanthus × giganteus (42 species) and Phalaris arundinacea (41 species). Moreover, it was found that regardless of the energy crop species, segetal weeds dominated during the first years of cultivation, i.e., E. crus-galli, A. spica-venti, A. retroflexus, Ch. album, M. inodora, and V. arvensis. In subsequent years of cultivation, however, the dominant species were ruderal weeds, such as A. vulgaris, T. officinale, and U. dioica, as well as invasive species, e.g., S. canadensis and S. gigantea. In subsequent years, ruderal species became dominant. The Shannon–Wiener diversity and Simpson dominance indices indicated differences in species richness and the relative abundance of individual weed species. The highest values of the Shannon–Wiener diversity index and the lowest values of the Simpson dominance index were recorded in weed communities of Salix viminalis plantations aged 7–16 years after establishment. In contrast, the highest Simpson index values, indicating dominance by one or a few weed species, were observed in the first year of cultivation regardless of the energy crop species, as well as in the 19-year-old Miscanthus × giganteus plantation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Weed Community Dynamics and Integrated Management Techniques)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-1
Back to TopTop