Arable weeds

The useful plants group includes a selection of field crops along with their typical arable weeds. Due to intensive arable farming and the abandonment of individual crops such as flax, many arable weeds have become rare. Numerous species are now listed on the Red List of Threatened Species.

The corn cockle, among others, is at risk of extinction. It is mainly found in winter cereal crops. Its seeds are poisonous. The bright blue-flowering cornflower is listed as an endangered species on the Red List. The Venus mirror, an annual bellflower plant that occurs on loamy, calcareous cereals or stubble fields, is so far only endangered on a regional level.

Arable weeds contribute to a diverse landscape. They promote soil life, can prevent erosion and bind excess nutrients. Moreover, they provide a habitat for numerous organisms, especially insects. These in turn are potentially beneficial organisms and play an important role in organic farming.

Arable weeds are not highly valued in conventional agriculture. They are considered to compete with cultivated plants for light, space, water and nutrients. Their seeds can contaminate seed material, which is particularly problematic in the case of wild herbs with poisonous seeds. Arable weeds can also be intermediate hosts for crop diseases, and they can affect the marketability of crops, for example when their rhizomes grow through potatoes.