A competitive cultivar is a variety that grows well in the presence of weeds by competing with them for resources without there being a significant loss of crop yield. A competitive cultivar acts as a cultural control tool helping reduce the reliance on herbicide use. Some cultivars suppress weed germination so help maintain a lower weed population, however other varieties are weed tolerant, so will grow well in the presence of weeds, however this has the risk of the weed seed bank building up. Cereal crops can possess certain traits which make them more competitive to weeds, it is a combination of characteristics that make a variety more competitive rather than a singular trait. . Management techniques, such as altering the row width, increasing the seed rate and sowing date can be integrated with competitive cultivar selection to reduce the negative impact of weeds.
Document no: 5. UK_PA_BS05_comp cultivars arable_EN
