What question did this study set out to answer?

The main goal is to identify effective crop combinations for weed management under Conservation Agriculture in Zimbabwe.

February 9, 2026Weed ResearchOpen Access

Strip Crops and Intercrops Outperform Crop Rotations for Weed Management Under Conservation Agriculture in Zimbabwe

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Experiment shows strip cropping outperforms crop rotations for weed control in smallholder farms, suggesting new farming strategies.

The main goal is to identify effective crop combinations for weed management under Conservation Agriculture in Zimbabwe.
Conducted experiments across two growing seasons at two research stations with contrasting soils.
Evaluated different cropping systems: maize monoculture, crop rotations, intercropping, and strip cropping.
Measured weed abundance, diversity, and community composition.
Assessed impacts of fertilisation on weed dynamics.
Maize-pigeon pea strip cropping resulted in the lowest weed numbers and biomass, along with the highest species diversity.
The maize-cowpea rotation performed worse in terms of weed management.
Fertility had inconsistent effects on weed numbers and diversity, but biomass cropping systems generally helped in reducing weed presence.

Masamba et al. (2026) studied this question.

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