Interference and niche differentiation between wheat and Japanese brome

Japanese brome (Bromus japonicus Thumb.) is known as the most important grass weed in the wheat fields of Sistan & Baloochestan. Using an additive series design we conducted field experiment over 2008-09 and 2009-10 growing seasons at Zahak, Zabol to characterize interference between wheat and Japanese brome. Wheat densities were considered at five levels of zero, 350, 400, 450, and 500 plants per m2 and Japanese brome at four levels of zero, 100, 200, and 300 plants per m2. Here, we estimated the intraspecies and interspecies competition coefficients, relative competitive ability and niche differentiation. For both years of experiment and in both stages of tillering and physiological maturation of wheat, the intraspecies competition coefficient of wheat ( ) was negative and the interspecies competition coefficient ( ) between wheat and Japanese brome was positive. The relative competitive ability of wheat ( ) showed that each Japanese brome plant was able to have a negative effect on the dry weight of a wheat plant equal to 2.5 wheat plants. The coefficient  showed that the competitive potential of each wheat plant in the tillering stage was 9.5 and 3.3 times more than a Japanese bromus plant in the first and second years of the experiment, respectively. In the interference of wheat and Japanese brome, wheat had a higher competitiveness, especially at the tillering stage. No niche differentiation observed between wheat and Japanese brome and their ecological niche strongly overlapped, which it was more at the tillering stage.