Effects of 22 herbicides on the synthesis of RNA and protein were investigated in excised tissues. The assays measured ATP and orotate incorporation into RNA, leucine incorporation into protein, and the gibberellin-controlled induction of a-amylase Statistical analysis of the average responses measured in the four assays suggested that 14 of the herbicides inhibited RNA and protein biosyntheses in vivo. The most inhibitory chemicals were 4-hydroxy-3,5-diiodobenzonitrile (ioxynil), 2-sec-butyl-4,6-dinitrophenol (dinoseb), 3',4'-dichloropropionanilide (propanil), 2,3,5-trichloro-4-pyridinol (pyriclor), and isopropyl m-chlorocarbanilate (chlorpropham). The activity of an RNA polymerase isolated from corn (Zea mays L.) tissue was inhibited maximally at approximately 20% by ioxynil, dinoseb, and pyriclor. Hence, interference with RNA polymerase, which performs a pivotal role in RNA and protein biosyntheses, does not fully account for all inhibitions.

Continuous-cropping conservation tillage systems may provide a viable alternative to the practice of summer fallow; however, concerns have been raised regarding potentially negative changes in weed communities in continuous cropping. Field experiments were established in Saskatchewan at three locations to determine the nature of weed community differences between a crop sequence with and without fallow in zero-, minimum-, and conventional-tillage systems from 1986 to 1990. Weed communities in continuous-cropping treatments tended to have greater total densities and were more similar in composition than crop-fallow treatments. Inclusion or exclusion of fallow within the rotation had a greater impact on weed community composition than did tillage system at Ituna and Waldron, but the reverse was true at Tadmore due to poor crop growth in all tillage systems. Differences in weed community composition were generally characterized by fluctuational changes in species associations. Volunteers of summer-annual crops, such as canola, flax, and barley, were associated with continuous cropping, but other species including perennial weeds, such as Canada thistle, perennial sowthistle, and quackgrass, were not strongly associated with the presence or absence of fallow. The practice of fallowing land to manage weeds may not be necessary.

Greenhouse studies were conducted to examine the influence of temperature and relative humidity (RH) on the foliar activity of mesotrione on five weed species. Regression analysis was performed allowing for comparison of estimated GR50 (herbicide dose to inhibit growth by 50%) values for each weed response at either temperature (18 or 32 C) or RH level (30 or 85%). Temperature and relative humidity did not influence the response of ivyleaf morningglory, common cocklebur, and velvetleaf to mesotrione markedly. An increase in temperature or relative humidity increased the efficacy of mesotrione on common cocklebur and velvetleaf up to threefold. Conversely, common waterhemp and large crabgrass were six- and sevenfold more susceptible at 18 C than at 32 C, respectively. Common waterhemp and large crabgrass were four- and twofold more susceptible to mesotrione at 85% compared with 30% RH, respectively. The influence of temperature and RH on the efficacy of mesotrione in foliar applications is species dependent and may be an important consideration for field applications.

This study was conducted in lowland fields at the International Rice Research Institute in the 1994 wet season and the 1995 dry season to determine Oryza sativa plant traits that confer competitive ability against weeds when pregerminated seeds are sown on puddled soil. Initial biomass (IB), crop growth rate (CGR), leaf area index (LAI), and biomass at tillering of O. sativa plants were associated with their competitiveness against weeds, whereas relative growth rate, net assimilation rate, and tillering capacity of O. sativa were not. Biomass at tillering affected weed biomass directly, and IB, CGR, and LAI indirectly affected weed biomass through O. sativa biomass. Biomass at tillering was the best predictor of modern cultivar competitiveness against weeds.

The effect of soil pH on the disappearance of 14C ring-labeled atrazine [2-chloro-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine], hydroxyatrazine [2-hydroxy-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine], and prometryne [2,4-bis(isopropylamino)-6-(methylthio)-s-triazine] were studied over a 5-month period in a Bladen silt loam soil under greenhouse conditions. Employment of an integrated system allowed simultaneous monitoring of degradation, volatilization, respiration, plant uptake, and leaching processes. A resulting balance-sheet indicated that a range of 87 to 99% of the 14C added could be accounted for after 5 months. Degradation was found to be the primary mode of dissipation. The pattern of atrazine degradation was characteristic of nonbiological processes, while prometryne degradation was probably by microbial action. Hydroxyatrazine was the major metabolite from the atrazine treatments while prometryne yielded an unknown and hydroxypropazine [2-hydroxy-4,6-bis(isopropylamino)-s-triazine]. Ex-tractable atrazine after 5 months amounted to 35% of the initial amount added in the pH 7.5 soil and 11% in the pH 5.5 soil, while prometryne occurred as 10% in the pH 7.5 soil and 42% in the pH 5.5 soil. Plant uptake and leaching occurred to a greater extent in the more alkaline soil with each chemical, but these pathways along with volatilization and respiration were minor contributors toward the disappearance of these herbicides.

The effects of common cocklebur (Xanthium pensylvanicum Wallr.) on soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr. ‘Wells′] development and seed yield were investigated at Urbana, Illinois, from 1974 through 1977. Increased densities of common cocklebur reduced soybean seed yield, total dry weight, and number of pods per plant. Under full-season competition, one common cocklebur/3 m of row reduced soybean seed yield by 3 to 12%. Soybean seed yield, total dry weight, and number of pods per plant increased as the length of time from soybean emergence to common cocklebur emergence increased. Common cocklebur emerging 4 weeks after soybean emergence reduced soybean seed yield by 7%. As duration of competition with common cocklebur increased, soybean seed yield, total dry weight, and number of pods per plant decreased. The reduction in soybean seed yield was less than 10% when common cocklebur was removed 6 weeks after soybean emergence. Effects of common cocklebur competition with soybeans in Illinois were similar to those observed in the southern United States.

Microbial degradation of 2-chloro-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine (atrazine) and 2-hydroxy-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine (hydroxyatrazine) was investigated in three Oregon soils. Hydrolysis of atrazine was determined by the presence of 14C-hydroxyatrazine in methanol extracts. Respired 14CO2 from the 14C-ethyl side chain of atrazine represented less than 10% of the added 14C in the soils after 28 days. Degradation was dependent on soil type, atrazine concentration, and moisture content. The isopropyl and ring constituents of atrazine were subject to minimal attack. The hydroxyatrazine ring was attacked more readily than the atrazine ring. Hydroxyatrazine accounted for approximately 10% of the extracted 14C from 14C-atrazine-treated Parkdale-A, Parkdale-C, and Coker soils and 40% from the Woodburn soil. Hydrolysis was the dominant pathway of detoxification in the Woodburn soil, whereas detoxification of atrazine in Parkdale-A, Parkdale-C, and Coker soils was a combination of chemical hydrolysis and slow microbial degradation by N-dealkylation of the ethyl side chain constituent.

Redroot pigweed is a common weed in sorghum fields throughout the southcentral United States including Kansas. In 1994 and 1995, field studies were conducted at two sites near Manhattan, KS, to determine the influence of redroot pigweed densities and times of emergence on sorghum yield and yield components. Redroot pigweed was sown at densities of 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 12 plants meter−1 of row within a 25-cm band over the sorghum row at planting and at the three- to four-leaf stage of sorghum. A rectangular hyperbola was used to describe the relationship between crop yield loss and weed density. Because of the instability of both coefficients I (percentage yield loss at low weed density) and A (percentage yield loss at high weed density), our results do not support the use of a model based exclusively on weed number to estimate sorghum yield loss across all locations within a region. A quadratic polynomial equation that accounts for the time of weed emergence relative to the crop growth stage is suggested as an alternative method to estimate sorghum yield loss. At the densities studied, the time of pigweed emergence relative to the sorghum leaf stage was critical for the outcome of sorghum-pigweed competition. Significant sorghum yield losses occurred only when pigweed emerged before the 5.5-leaf stage of sorghum. An examination of yield components suggested that the yield loss was a result of a reduction in number of seeds per head.

The effects of soybean row width and redroot pigweed density on growth of crop and weed were studied in field trials in 1983, 1984, and Structural relationships within the canopies of soybean and redroot pigweed in relation to row width and weed density were studied in 1984 and 1985 to assess canopy geometry in relation to intra- and interspecific competition. Early in the growing season, soybean biomass was reduced in the presence of both high and low densities of pigweed. Pigweed biomass was also reduced in the presence of soybeans, especially when grown in narrow rows (25 cm). By midseason, pigweed's contribution to total biomass had reached 43% in wide-row (76-cm) stands and 24% in narrow rows. Soybean produced two to four times more leaf area than pigweed during the first half of the growth season. Narrow-row planting favored soybean leaf area production. Soybean LAI values from weedy stands were reduced compared to those from weed-free stands. Pigweed's contribution to total leaf area averaged 29% in wide-row spacing and 15% in narrow rows. Pigweed leaf area was concentrated in the upper strata of the canopy and thus reduced light available to soybean leaves lower in the canopy. Leaf area distribution patterns suggested that soybean and pigweed were competing for light even though soybean had produced more leaf area than pigweed. These relations were consistent from year to year in spite of variable water conditions.

2–chloro–4,6–bis(ethylamino)–s–triazine (simazine) is a highly selective herbicide. Corn (Zea mays) is very resistant to the toxic action of this compound while wheat, (Triticum spp) and oats (Avena spp) are susceptible.

Biotypes of field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis L. ♯3 CONAR) identified in Indiana varied widely in susceptibility to glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine] but not to 2,4-D [(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid] or bentazon [3-isopropyl-1H-2,1,3-benzothiadiazin-4(3H)-one 2,2-dioxide] in field tests. Significant differences in injury to two of the biotypes occurred with glyphosate applied at 1.12 to 4.48 kg ai/ha in greenhouse tests. Differences of greater than 70% in injury rating, root and shoot dry weight, and shoot regrowth dry weight occurred between the two biotypes at 2.24 kg/ha glyphosate. The susceptibility of the tolerant biotype at 2.24 kg/ha glyphosate was decreased by 40% as it increased in age, while the susceptible biotype sustained complete foliar necrosis when treated at all plant ages tested. Susceptibility differences between the two biotypes could not be correlated to differences in leaf stomatal or epidermal cell number. These studies suggested that the variable control of field bindweed observed in the field may be due to the occurrence of biotypes within a given population of this weed which differ in their susceptibility to glyphosate.

In addition to being a strong competitor with cotton and other row crops, Palmer amaranth has developed resistance to numerous important agricultural herbicides, including glyphosate. The objective of this study was to determine if the glyphosate-resistance trait can be transferred via pollen movement from a glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth source to a glyphosate-susceptible sink. In 2006 and 2007 glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth plants were transplanted in the center of a 30-ha cotton field. Susceptible Palmer amaranth plants were transplanted into plots located at distances up to 300 m from the edge of the resistant pollen source in each of the four cardinal and ordinal directions. Except for the study plots, the interior of the field and surrounding acreage were kept free of Palmer amaranth by chemical and physical means. Seed was harvested from 249 and 292 mature females in October 2006 and 2007, respectively. Offspring, 14,037 in 2006 and 13,685 in 2007, from glyphosate-susceptible mother plants were treated with glyphosate when the plants were 5 to 7 cm tall. The proportion of glyphosate-resistant progeny decreased with increased distance from the pollen source; approximately 50 to 60% of the offspring at the 1- and 5-m distances were resistant to glyphosate, whereas 20 to 40% of the offspring were resistant at the furthest distances. The development of resistance was not affected by direction; winds were variable with respect to both speed and direction during the peak pollination hours throughout the growing season. Results from this study indicate that the glyphosate-resistance trait can be transferred via pollen movement in Palmer amaranth.

Understanding abundance and distribution of weed species within the landscape of an agroecosystem is an important goal for weed science. Abundance is a measure of the number or frequency of individuals in an area. Distribution is a measure of the geographical range of a weed species. The study of weed population's abundance and distribution is helpful in determining how a population changes over time in response to selective pressures applied by our agronomic practices. Accurate estimates, however, of these two key variables are very important if we are to manage agricultural land both for productivity and for biodiversity.

In a semiarid Mediterranean site in central Spain, field experiments were conducted on a Calcic Haploxeralf (noncalcic brown soil), which had been managed with three crop rotations and two tillage systems (no-tillage and conventional tillage) since 1987. The crop rotations consisted of barley→vetch, barley→sunflower, and a barley monoculture. The study took place in two growing seasons (1992–1994) to assess the effects of management practices on the weed seedbank. During this period, spring weed control was not carried out in winter crops. In the no-tillage system, there was a significant increase in the number of seeds of different weed species: anacyclus, common purslane, corn poppy, knotted hedge-parsley, mouse-ear cress, spring whitlowgrass, tumble pigweed, venus-comb, and Veronica triphyllos. Conversely, the presence of prostrate knotweed and wild radish was highest in plots under conventional tillage. These results suggest large differences in the weed seedbank as a consequence of different soil conditions among tillage systems, but also the necessity of spring weed control when a no-tillage system is used. With regard to crop rotations, the number of seeds of knotted hedge-parsley, mouse-ear cress, and spring whitlowgrass was greater in the plots under the barley→vetch rotation. Common lambsquarters dominated in the plots under the barley→sunflower rotation, whereas venus-comb was the most frequent weed in the barley monoculture. Larger and more diverse weed populations developed in the barley→vetch rotation rather than in the barley→sunflower rotation or the barley monoculture.

The nonuniform spatial distribution of weeds complicates sampling, modeling, and management of weed populations. Principles of a rational approach to analysis of weed spatial distribution, combining classical and spatial statistics, are presented using data for cumulative emergence of common lambsquarters in no-tillage soybean fields in 1990 and 1993. Classical statistics, dispersion indices, mean/variance relationships, and frequency histograms confirmed that raw and loge-transformed data were not normally distributed, that populations were aggregated, and that large-scale trends in population means violated assumptions of spatial statistics. Detrending was accomplished by median polishing loge-transformed data and confirmed by evaluation of standardized residuals and frequency histograms. Detrended residuals were used to construct omni-directional and uni-directional semivariograms to describe the spatial structure of the populations. A spherical model fit to the data was verified by cross validation. Semivariograms showed that common lambsquarters density was spatially autocorrelated at distances to 16 m, with more than 30% of the variance in density due to distance between field locations. Comparisons of kriged estimates and their standard deviations with and without detrending indicated that estimates using detrended data were more appropriate and more precise. Kriged estimates of common lambsquarters density were used to draw contour maps of the populations.

Introduction of glyphosate resistance into crops through genetic modification has revolutionized crop protection. Glyphosate is a broad-spectrum herbicide with favorable environmental characteristics and effective broad-spectrum weed control that has greatly improved crop protection efficiency. However, in less than a decade, the utility of this technology is threatened by the occurrence of glyphosate-tolerant and glyphosate-resistant weed species. Factors that have contributed to this shift in weed species composition in Georgia cotton production are reviewed, along with the implications of continued overreliance on this technology. Potential scenarios for managing glyphosate-resistant populations, as well as implications on the role of various sectors for dealing with this purported tragedy of the commons, are presented. Benghal dayflower, a glyphosate-tolerant species, continues to spread through Georgia and surrounding states, whereas glyphosate susceptibility in Palmer amaranth is endangered in Georgia and other cotton-producing states in the southern United States. Improved understanding of how glyphosate susceptibility in our weed species spectrum was compromised (either through occurrence of herbicide-tolerant or -resistant weed species) may allow us to avoid repeating these mistakes with the next herbicide-resistant technology.

Witchweed (Striga asiatica Lour. ♯4 STRLU) seed remained viable for 6 yr under open-shelf laboratory conditions and for 14 yr when deep buried under field conditions. Seed kept in normal atmosphere of the laboratory for < 1 through 6 yr had the following germination percentages: 2, 95, 95, 94, 83, 38, and 7. Newly harvested seed will not germinate because of postmaturity ripening requirements. There were no viable seed after 7 yr of shelf storage in the laboratory. Seed buried in the field gave 60 to 90% germination the first season after production. Annual recovery and testing showed a gradual reduction in viability to 10% at year 14 for the deepest buried seed; shallower buried seed expired sooner. No germination occurred thereafter.

A 2-yr study was conducted to determine the influence of early and late soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] planting dates on the competitiveness of velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti Medic). Velvetleaf was planted at densities of one plant per 61 and 30 cm of row, and competition ranged from 4 weeks to full season. Soybean planting dates were mid-May and late-June. Velvetleaf emerging with soybeans in mid-May were twice as competitive as those emerging with soybeans planted in late-June. A density of one velvetleaf per 30 cm of row competing full season reduced soybean yields 27% for the early and only 14% for the late planting date. The competitive difference was due to the short-day photoperiodic response of velvetleaf. Although the early growth stages of soybeans are more competitive than those of velvetleaf, 10 weeks after emergence velvetleaf competition reduced soybean growth and development. Velvetleaf does not appear to be a potential major problem in Arkansas for soybeans planted in June due to its photoperiodic response and late season competitiveness. However, the weed could present problems for soybeans planted early, especially when an early maturing variety is used.

The spatial variation of measured pesticide concentrations is often a complicating factor in interpreting the results from field studies. This is particularly true when the study objective is quantitative evaluation of pathways of pesticide loss (leaching, degradation) or efficacy. The variation can result from a lack of uniformity in pesticide or water application (an extrinsic factor) or from spatial differences in various physical, chemical, and biological processes (intrinsic factors) that act to transport and transform pesticides in the field. Most research attention to date has not focused on the spatial variation of these basic processes, but rather on the total spatial variation (extrinsic plus intrinsic) in the measured concentrations of residual pesticide.

Field experiments were conducted from 1974 to 1977 at Redfield and Centerville, South Dakota, to evaluate the tolerance of soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] at different growth stages and five varieties of soybeans to dicamba (3,6-dichloro-o-anisic acid) and to determine dicamba residue in the foliage. Yield reduction occurred from applications when soybeans were flowering. Furthermore, germination was reduced by dicamba application at pod-fill. Dicamba residue was detected in foliage 7 days but not 18 days after application. Extent of dicamba use and drift occurrence was determined by a telephone survey of 159 farmers. Thirty-one percent of the farmers surveyed used dicamba in 1976.