ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Agron.
Sec. Weed Management
Can modulations of nitrogen fertilization and crop traits help to promote biological weed regulation by competition? A simulation study
Provisionally accepted
- 1Agroecologie, Dijon, France
- 2Unite Mixte de Recherche Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Ecotoxicologie des Agroecosystemes, Palaiseau, France
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With the reduction of both herbicide and mineral fertilizer use for environmental reasons, cropweed competition for nitrogen might increase in arable fields. Adapting nitrogen fertilization and the choice of crop species/varieties according to their nitrogen nutrition traits could provide options to drive competitive relationships among plants. A simulation study was conducted to identify which nitrogen fertilization options and which crop traits related to nitrogen nutrition have the most influence on weed impacts on agroecosystem. We studied indicators of both weed harmfulness (i.e., crop grain yield loss due to weeds, field infestation by weed biomass, weed seed production) and weed benefits (i.e., weed species richness, weed-based food offer for bees). Sensitivity analyses were performed using a process-based model (FLORSYS) simulating crop and weed growth and dynamics over the years from information on cropping system, pedoclimate and species traits. A maize monoculture from South-Western France was used as a case study. Different maize varieties (differing by their trait values related to nitrogen nutrition) were simulated in different scenarios of nitrogen fertilization (application date and rate, crop residue management, and initial soil organic nitrogen) and weather. The analyses showed that nitrogen application rate and maize variety were the factors influencing weed impacts on agroecosystem the most. Decreasing nitrogen rates increased weed harmfulness and also decreased maize yield potential (i.e. yield in the absence of weeds). The maize traits that both decreased weed harmfulness the most and increased maize productivity the most were a low plant nitrogen demand, a high root nitrogen uptake efficiency and a specific leaf area (leaf area per unit leaf biomass) insensitive to plant nitrogen stress. These results are useful to better understand the role of nitrogen in crop-weed competition and identify management strategies promoting biological weed regulation.
Keywords: Cropping system, Fertilization, Model, Nitrogen, sensitivity analysis, trait, weed
Received: 21 Aug 2025; Accepted: 22 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Perthame, Moreau, Maillot and Colbach. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Laurène Perthame
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