There is little knowledge of the impact of weeds on the energy crop of Arundo donax. In this work the effect of weeds on the growth of Arundo donax is studied in Central Spain in the establishment of the crop. The experimental design involved a field experiment with three weeding treatments and four quantitative variables. Weed species, abundance and size of the dominant weed were assessed as well. Significant differences were found between treatments for all plant traits. The most sensitive trait was the basal diameter of Arundo main stems. In our experiment conditions, Conyza spp was the dominant weed and it grew above Arundo crop in the control treatment. Evidence was provided that weeding should be best performed in mid spring.

Proceedings of the 23rd European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 1-4 June 2015, Vienna, Austria, pp. 169-173