Zahra Bitarafan
Research Scientist
Biography
My research areas are:
- Weed biology and control (chemical and non-chemical, IWM), mainly in cereal, oilseed, and protein crops
- Herbicide resistance
- Biology and control of invasive alien plant species
- Weed biodiversity in agricultural land
- Climate change and weeds in a changing climate
- (Others: pesticide residues in crops and food, medicinal plants, biochar, …)
"This page includes a subset of my research outputs published in English; the Norwegian version of this page provides a complete list of outputs in both English and Norwegian."
Authors
Barbara Baraibar Zahra Bitarafan José Luis González Andújar Eva Hernández Plaza Merel Hofmeijer Silvia Medina Susana Pascual Björn Ringselle Inés Santin Amber ten Brummelhuis Stanley ZiraAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Kristian Nikolai Jæger Hansen Benedikte Watne Oliver Zahra Bitarafan Inger Sundheim Fløistad Christian Andreasen Lars Olav BrandsæterAbstract
Background: Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum Sommier and Levier) is a perennial herbaceous plant that can grow to a height of 2-5 m. A single flowering plant can produce more than 20,000 seeds. It is one of Europe’s most widespread and problematic invasive alien species and a severe threat to native biodiversity. Glyphosate is widely used to control H. mantegazzianum. Decades of intensive herbicide spraying have led to environmental pollution, prompting a need to explore new methods to supplement or replace glyphosate. Objective: Non-chemical methods to control H. mantegazzianum were tested and compared with glyphosate application. Methods: In two infested locations in southeast Norway, we compared the efficacy of glyphosate applications with a combination of mechanical cutting of the flowering stem of H. mantegazzianum and hot water treatment (80 °C). Hot water or glyphosate was supplied by foliar application or injection into the root crown. Results: The best method to reduce cover and the number of H. mantegazzianum rosettes and seedlings was achieved with two foliar applications of glyphosate. Cutting the flowering stem and injecting hot water into the root crown was almost as efficient as glyphosate application. Cutting and foliar applications of hot water had the weakest efficacy. Despite the best control and significant growth of grasses after glyphosate treatment, relatively high percentage of bare soil remained in the plots afterwards, increasing the risk of erosion. Conclusions: Cutting and injection of hot water in the root crown may be a viable alternative to glyphosate application in areas where herbicides are undesirable.
Authors
Zahra Bitarafan Wiktoria Kaczmarek-Derda Rafael De Andrade Moral Pierre-Adrien Rivier Therese With Berge Christian AndreasenAbstract
Weed seeds are potential contaminants of composts derived from biowastes. We assessed the effect of steam treatment alone and in combination with composting on the mortality of barnyardgrass [ Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv.] seeds in a biowaste substrate consisting of a mixture of onion ( Allium spp.) waste (60%), horse ( Equus spp.) manure (20%), and wood shavings (20%). In the first study, seeds of six populations of E. crus-galli exposed to temperatures ranging from ca. 60 to 99 C followed by a 3-min residence time exhibited a decline in seed germination from approximately 25% to 0%. The E. crus-galli populations varied greatly in germinability and responded differently to high temperatures. Samples with lower germinability as assessed in controls were killed at lower temperatures than samples with higher initial germinability. However, to ensure an almost 100% kill of all seeds in the populations, a mean temperature of 100 C was necessary. In another study, seed germination was assessed after steaming the biowaste mixture to a mean temperature of about 60 C and subsequently composting. A short steaming period of the biowaste mixture at approximately 60 C before composting was unnecessary, as all composted seed samples, including the non-steamed control seeds, died during the composting process.
