Opener geometry effect on weed seed bank

Mechanical weed control in field can reduce the environmental issues due to using herbicides and the cost of them. This study was a conducted in the form of randomized complete block experimental design with six treatments and four replications in Zarghan of Fars Province to determine the effect of opener geometry on weed seeds bank. Treatments were bent leg opener, narrow point opener with rake angles of 53° and 90°, sweep opener, disc opener and moldboard plow (control). In this project, weed seeds bank and weed seeds location in soil was studied. Results indicated that opener geometry affected on weed seeds translocation. The bent leg opener had the highest and the lowest weed seeds percentage in the soil surface and deeper layers with 26.7% and 7.4%, respectively. However, moldboard plow had the lowest and the highest weed seeds percentage in the soil surface and deeper layers with 12.7% and 14.8%, respectively. This is show that the bent leg opener reduced vertical displacement of weed seeds in soil and also reduced weed seeds translocation from surface to depth of soil. Therefore, the bent leg opener can reduce weed seeds bank in the long time.