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The Impact of Rye Cover Crops on Weed Populations in a Tomato Cropping System

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

John B. Masiunas
Affiliation:
Dep. Hortic., Univ. Illinois, 1201 W. Gregory Dr., Urbana, IL 61801
Leslie A. Weston
Affiliation:
Dep. Hortic., Univ. Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546
Stephen C. Weller
Affiliation:
Dep. Hortic., Purdue Univ., W. Lafayette, IN 47906

Abstract

A reduced-till (RT) experiment determined the effect of rye seeding density and method of kill on rye biomass persistence, weed suppression, and tomato yield. ‘Wheeler’ rye was seeded at 56, 110, and 170 kg ha−1 in the fall of 1988 and 1989 in Champaign, IL; Lexington, KY; and Lafayette, IN. One wk before transplanting tomatoes, rye was desiccated either by applying glyphosate at 1.1 kg ha−1 and mowing (RT-glyphosate) or by mowing alone (RT-mowed). Both methods left rye residues on the soil surface as a mulch. Seeding density did not affect rye biomass, weed control, or tomato yield. Rye biomass differed depending on location and year, ranging from 320 to 1150 gm−2. Rye was completely killed by glyphosate, but regrew following mowing. RT-glyphosate suppressed weeds for 4 to 8 wk, which was similar to the suppression from conventional tillage (fall plowing with spring disking and harrowing) with trifluralin and metribuzin (CT-herbicide). Weed communities varied, but redroot pigweed and giant foxtail were present at all three locations. All treatments required supplemental weed management for commercially acceptable control. Except for IL in 1990, processing tomato yields (kg ha−1) in RT-glyphosate with hand-weeding were equal or better than yields in the CT treatments.

Type
Special Topics
Copyright
Copyright © 1995 by the Weed Science Society of America 

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