From Spain to Argentina: advancing research on weed emergence

In November 2025, Maria Arias Martín, researcher at the Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC, Spain), completed her secondment at the Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires (FAUBA).

During her stay, Maria worked under the supervision of prof. Diego Batlla as part of the BAMh project, contributing to research on weed germination and the development of predictive emergence models for Mediterranean agroecosystems.

The secondment focused on improving the understanding of emergence patterns of six problematic summer weed species affecting crops such as maize: Chenopodium album, Amaranthus retroflexus, Abutilon theophrasti, Sorghum halepense, Echinochloa crus-galli, and Digitaria sanguinalis. These species are among the most challenging weeds in summer cropping systems and predicting their emergence can significantly improve management strategies.

One of the main objectives of the research was to determine the base temperature for germination of Chenopodium album using seeds collected from different agroclimatic regions of the Iberian Peninsula. At the FAUBA Seed Laboratory, germination experiments were conducted at six constant temperatures to estimate the thermal thresholds regulating germination. Additional tests were performed to assess seed dormancy through specific treatments and temperature regimes.

In parallel, Maria contributed to the development of thermal time-based emergence models for the six target weed species. These models use field emergence data collected in 2024 across the Iberian Peninsula to predict when weeds are likely to emerge under Mediterranean climatic conditions. Preliminary results show promising levels of accuracy and are expected to improve the timing and effectiveness of weed control strategies.

Beyond the scientific outcomes, the secondment strengthened collaboration between INIA-CSIC and FAUBA, establishing new links between research teams working on weed biology and agroecology in Europe and South America. The results obtained during this exchange will support ongoing research projects and future joint studies on weed emergence and sustainable crop management.