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Research paper

EFFECT OF DIFFERENT FERTILIZATION SYSTEMS ON WEED FLORA IN A TOMATO CROP IN SERBIA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24326/asphc.2026.5709
Submitted: 6 May 2026
Published: 03.08.2026

Abstract

This study evaluated weed community composition and diversity in tomato crops under five fertilization regimes, including mineral fertilization (NPK) applied alone or in combination with well-decomposed cattle manure, retort beech charcoal, and their combinations. A total of 23 weed species were recorded across all treatments. Species richness ranged from 10 to 23 species (T1 = 17, T2 = 12, T3 = 15, T4 = 23, T5 = 10). Total weed density ranged from 70.67 to 187.99 individuals per m². The highest Shannon diversity value was recorded in T4 (2.439), while the lowest was in T5 (1.965). Simpson’s dominance index ranged from 0.116 to 0.182, with consistently high evenness across treatments. Jaccard’s similarity index ranged from 31.82% to 73.91%, while Steinhaus coefficients ranged from 0.412 to 0.718. PERMANOVA indicated significant differences in weed community composition among treatments (p = 0.001). NMDS ordination (stress ≈ 0.16; R² = 0.973) suggested partial separation among treatments, with T3 and T4 appearing more similar, while T5 was separated from other treatments and characterized by comparatively reduced community complexity.  Chenopodium album and Amaranthus retroflexus were present in all treatments (100% frequency). Therophytes represented the dominant life form across treatments (78.26%). The results showed that the fertilization strategy influenced the frequency and abundance of the weed population in tomato crops.

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