Solar heating (SH) of wet soil by mulching it with transparent polyethylene (PE) during the hot season increased soil temperature in a typical daily course which varied with soil depth. Annual weed species responded to soil heating in the laboratory with the same pattern as under SH conditions in the field. Rhizomes of bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon L. Pers. ♯3 CYNDA) and johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense L. Pers. ♯ SORHA) were very sensitive to heat treatment, but purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus L. ♯ CYPRO) tubers were able to survive temperatures as high as 80 C for 30 min. Species having big and heavy seeds or vegetative propagules were able to emerge from deep layers of soil, thus practically escaping the lethal temperature prevailing in the upper layer. Transparent and black PE mulching effectively prevented water loss from soil, as compared with perforated PE and nonmulched control. CO2 concentration in the soil atmosphere under transparent PE mulching increased rapidly during the first week and reached a maximal level which was 20-fold higher than that formed in nonmulched soil. Ethylene at 0.2 ppm was detected only in a mulched soil environment. No differences in levels of CH4 or CO were detected.

Giant reed is one of the most widespread invasive species in riparian habitats in California and other coastal states of the United States. This species is thought to spread primarily asexually by flood dispersal of stem and rhizome pieces; viable seeds have not been found in the United States. Research was conducted to quantify genetic variation in giant reed along the Santa Ana River in California and to investigate the pattern of distribution of variation along this watershed. Populations at least 3.2 km apart were collected along the length of the Santa Ana River from the headwaters to the Pacific Ocean. One additional population from a different watershed was collected to serve as an out-group. Genetic analyses were conducted using both starch gel electrophoresis for isozyme analysis and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis. Both isozyme and RAPD analyses revealed levels of genetic diversity comparable with those in the literature for clonal species, suggesting that asexual reproduction is the primary means of spread of giant reed. Most phenotypes were spread along the Santa Ana River, which is expected if water is the primary means of spread of vegetative propagules. Among the unique phenotypes found, two isozyme phenotypes and one RAPD phenotype were dominant and were found spread along the river, which may indicate greater fitness or competitive superiority to the other phenotypes that were less common. The dominant phenotypes were also found in the out-group population, possibly because of spread by humans. Because spread occurs mainly asexually, management efforts should focus on preventing establishment and spread of vegetative propagules. A moderate level of genetic diversity also suggests that biological control of this weed could be successful.

Variation in spring emergence periodicity (both before and after crop seeding) of summer annual weeds is a potentially exploitable attribute that may be applied to weed management in canola. Tillage intensity, which is decreasing in the Great Plains of North America, may influence emergence periodicity of summer annual weeds. Emergence periodicity of common lambsquarters, field pennycress, green foxtail, redroot pigweed, wild buckwheat, wild mustard, and wild oat were monitored during the spring of 2000 in 17 producers' canola fields across southern Manitoba, Canada. The fields represented a region of approximately 2 million ha and included a broad range of soil types, agronomic practices, environmental conditions, and seedbank distributions. Fields were grouped into one of two broad tillage classifications (conventional or conservation). For most species, except redroot pigweed and wild mustard, conservation tillage promoted earlier emergence than conventional tillage in terms of both thermal and chronological time. The differences were significant even though there was only a limited range of tillage intensity for the two tillage classes within this region. Onset of canola crop emergence preceded that of all but one weed species in the conservation-tillage fields and five weed species in the conventional-tillage fields. This suggests that canola seeded in conservation- vs. conventional-tillage systems may have a competitive advantage by way of an earlier relative time of crop emergence. The influence of tillage system on weed emergence periodicity is likely due to the influence of tillage on the vertical origin of weed seedling recruitment because measurements of soil temperature and soil moisture did not help to fully explain the differences in emergence periodicity between tillage systems. The results from this study will facilitate weed control timing decisions in canola and provide validation data for weed emergence models.

The adsorption, desorption, and mobility of metribuzin [4-amino-6-tert-butyl-3-(methylthio)-as-triazine-5(4H)one] in eight Ontario soils were investigated. The distribution coefficients varied from 0.56 for the least adsorptive Fox sandy loam soil to 31.67 for the most highly adsorptive Leamington muck soil. Most of the adsorbed metribuzin was desorbed from the mineral soils after six aqueous extractions, however substantial amounts of the herbicide remained adsorbed on the muck soils after 10 aqueous extractions. The herbicide was relatively mobile in mineral soils but was immobile in the muck soils. Mobility was inversely correlated with the amount of soil organic matter. Bioassay studies indicated that phytotoxicity of metribuzin also decreased with increasing organic matter content of the soil. Persistence of metribuzin was dependent on microbial degradation. In a field study with Guelph loam, the half-life of metribuzin was approximately 3 months.

Cacodylic acid (hydroxydimethylarsine oxide) was more phytotoxic than monsodium methanearsonate (MSMA), sodium arsenate, or sodium arsenite when foliarly-applied. MSMA was much more effective on dicotyledonous than on monocotyledonous species. Sodium arsenite and arsenate had little effect on grasses. A comparative study of absorption, transport, and metabolism in beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L. ‘Black Valentine’) revealed that cacodylic acid and MSMA were transported about equally from the leaves to the terminal bud and expanding leaves whereas negligible amounts of sodium arsenite and arsenate were translocated. The latter two compounds caused more rapid contact injury to the treated leaves than either organic arsenical. There was no indication that cacodylic acid or MSMA was demethylated to form inorganic arsenicals or reduced to trivalent arsenic compounds. Studies with 14C-MSMA indicated that about 40% of the 14C and arsenic recovered was bound rapidly to another molecule to form a ninhydrin-positive complex. In small amounts, arsenate combined with some component of plant tissues. Also, arsenite probably was oxidized to arsenate. In beans, root-applied sodium arsenite was more phytotoxic than sodium arsenate and both were much more phytotoxic than cacodylic acid and MSMA. Most differences in phytotoxicity could not be explained by differences in rates of absorption by bean roots. Arsenite caused considerable contact injury to the root system, probably accounting for its relatively great phytotoxicity. Both cacodylic acid and MSMA were more phytotoxic per mole of tissue arsenic when foliarly-applied than when root-applied.

Competition of green foxtail [Setaria viridis (L.) Beauv.] was studied in a semi-dwarf wheat (Triticum aestivum L. ‘Norquay’) and in two normal-height wheats (‘Napayo’ and ‘Sinton’) from 1975 through 1978. Green foxtail suppressed wheat growth as well as grain yield. Tiller number, leaf area, and dry weight of wheat were reduced. Green foxtail was more competitive in the semi-dwarf variety than in either normal height variety. The intensity of green foxtail competition could not be determined by density alone. In 1975, as few as 100 green foxtail plants/m2 significantly reduced yield of Napayo and Norquay wheat by 21 and 44%, respectively. In 1977, however, 1600 green foxtail plants/m2 did not reduce the yield of Sinton wheat significantly. The intensity of green foxtail competition was highly variable from one date of seeding to the next, but there was no correlation between the level of green foxtail competition and the date of seeding. Soil temperature and moisture at the time of seeding and early growth are thought to affect green foxtail competition in wheat critically.

Adsorption and desorption isotherms for atrazine and two metabolites, hydroxyatrazine (HA) and S-glutathione atrazine (GSHA), were determined by batch equilibration on Plano and Waukegan silt loam soils at two soil pH levels (Plano, 6.1 and 4.5; Waukegan, 6.1 and 4.0). Freundlich adsorption isotherms were not affected by soil type except for GSHA at pH 4.0 to 4.5. When averaged over both soils, the order of adsorption at pH 6.1 was atrazine (Kf = 3.7) < GSHA (Kf = 7.3) << HA (Kf = 25) and at pH 4.0–4.5 was atrazine (Kf = 6.1) << HA (Kf = 58) ≤ GSHA (Kf: Plano = 35; Waukegan = 78). The average slope of the adsorption isotherms (1/nads) was 0.81. The slopes of all desorption isotherms (1/ndes) were less than their respective 1/nads, indicating hysteresis. Atrazine desorbed into soil solution (1/ndes > 0.0). With the exception of GSHA which desorbed from the pH 6.1 Plano silt loam (1/ndes = 0.15), desorption of HA and GSHA from other treatments was negligible (1/ndes = 0.0). Consequently, leaching of HA and GSHA in these and similar soils is not likely, due to high adsorption and low desorption.

Land managers typically use herbicides, biological controls, fire, grazing, and revegetation to manage and restore rangeland dominated by invasive plants. Without careful planning and implementation, these tools may temporarily control the weeds but may ultimately have minimal influence on ecological processes, fail over the long term, and lead to weed reinvasion. This can result from the lack of a broad ecological perspective. Successional management provides a process-based framework for weed ecologists to develop and test integrated weed management strategies and for land managers to organize implementation of these strategies in a way that adequately addresses ecological processes. This framework offers land managers practical methods for modifying ecological processes to direct plant community composition away from invasive species and toward desired plant assemblages. To date, successional management has not gained widespread application because, in part, it has not been conceptually linked to other successional models. Therefore, we illustrate how other successional models can be incorporated within the framework. Incorporating other prevailing successional models will further elucidate ecological processes, offer additional management strategies, and widen the possibilities for ecologically based management of rangeland weeds. Approaching management of weed-infested rangeland through this process-based framework will enable managers to implement strategies that maximize the likelihood of success because these methods will be integrated based on ecological principles. Successional management should be adjusted as we gain a better understanding of the factors that drive succession.

In 1:1 slurry, adsorption of 2-chloro-4,6-bis (ethylamino)-s-triazine (simazine) by acid soils from saturated solution varied from 13 to 90%. Percent of adsorption from more dilute solutions was approximately that from the saturated solution. The adsorption of simazine by 18 soils was not correlated significantly with soil pH, but was correlated significantly with percent clay and highly significantly with organic matter and titratable acidity. Simazine was considered to be adsorbed by soils by proton association. Using titratable acidity as a measure of H-soil, equilibrium constants were calculated which did not vary greatly as a result of changes in acidity up to pH 8.5, or as a result of concentration of simazine in the added solution. Leon, the most adsorptive of the tested soils, gave values for the equilibrium constant that were somewhat higher than for four other soils. Simazine penetrated more deeply into limed soil than into unlimed soil. Liming reduced the decomposition of simazine as did intermittent drying. Recovery decreased with time.

In 2006, Palmer amaranth with confirmed resistance to glyphosate (GLY-R) was not controlled effectively in cotton with pyrithiobac, an acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibiting herbicide. Glyphosate at 870 g ae ha−1 or pyrithiobac at 70 g ai ha−1 applied postemergence provided 5 to 28% control of a putative GLY/ALS-R Palmer amaranth biotype in the field. Glyphosate at 6,930 g ha−1 and pyrithiobac at 420 g ha−1 applied alone provided no more than 89 and 65% control 1 to 8 wk after treatment (WAT), respectively. When applied as a tank mixture, glyphosate plus pyrithiobac at 870 + 70 g ha−1 provided between 16 and 41% control; glyphosate plus pyrithiobac at 6,930 + 420 g ha−1 controlled the Palmer amaranth in the field 89 to 95%. Dose-response analyses developed from greenhouse data indicated that the estimated glyphosate rates required to produce 50% injury and reduce plant fresh weights by 50% relative to the nontreated control in a suspected GLY/ALS-R Palmer amaranth biotype were 12 and 14 times greater, respectively, than the estimated values for the susceptible (S) biotype. The predicted pyrithiobac rates required to produce the same responses in the putative resistant population were 151 (50% injury) and 563 times (50% fresh weight reduction) greater than the estimated rates for the S biotype. Field and greenhouse analyses confirm that the Palmer amaranth biotype evaluated in both studies is resistant to glyphosate and an ALS-inhibiting herbicide.

Our objective was to identify traits in winter wheat important to competitiveness against jointed goatgrass, measured as increased wheat yields and reduced jointed goatgrass seed production. Jointed goatgrass is an important winter annual grass weed that cannot be controlled selectively in winter wheat. Seven cultivars of soft white winter wheat were grown with and without competition from jointed goatgrass over two growing seasons. Measurements of numerous traits of winter wheat and jointed goatgrass were recorded throughout each growing season. The data were analyzed using path analysis with latent variables to determine which traits most enhanced competitiveness. In a drier year, increased rate of height development was important in maintaining wheat yields when wheat was growing in competition with jointed goatgrass. Increased rate of height development also was an important trait in reducing jointed goatgrass seed production. In a wet year compared to a dry year, the number of wheat heads per plant, the rate of water use, and weight gain were positively correlated to maintaining winter wheat yields. Jointed goatgrass seed production in the wet year was reduced overall compared to the dry year, but from the cultivars tested, there were no traits identified that were critical in enhancing this loss of seed production. This study suggests that cultivars with greater height development rates will be more competitive when growing in fields infested with jointed goatgrass.

Low species diversity accompanied high populations of Canada thistle [Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop.]. Two perennial grasses and two rushes grew with Canada thistle; annual plants did not. Canada thistle litter, ground roots, and ground foliage added to soil in greenhouse bio-assay tests reduced growth of redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.) and green foxtail [Setaria viridis (L.) Beauv.] more than cucumber (Cucumis sativis L.) or barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). The addition of nutrients did not mask the toxic effect. Ethanolic extracts of Canada thistle roots and foliage were similar in their ability to reduce radicle growth of barley, cucumber, green foxtail, and redroot pigweed in petri dish studies. There was no significant difference between water controls and controls adjusted to the average pH and osmotic potential of the extracts. Germination of barley and cucumber seed was not affected. Comparisons between ethanolic extractions and soil incorporation of plant residues with presumably non-allelopathic plants revealed that cucumber and barley extracts reduced redroot pigweed radicle growth whereas barley and green foxtail extracts increased green foxtail radicle growth. These effects were not observed when these plant residues were mixed in soil.

Approximately 75% of the inhibitory effect of a foliar application of 4-chloro-2-butynyl N-(3-chlorophenyl)carbamate (barban) on wheat was eliminated by dusting the seed before planting with 4′-chloro-2-hydroxyiminoacetanilide at a rate of one ounce per bushel. Other highly effective antidotes were 2,4-dichloro-9-xanthenone and N-methyl-3,4-dichlorobenzene sulfonamide. Barban antidotes were found in those chemicals that produced formative effects on plants.

Laboratory studies were conducted to describe germination and seedling elongation of Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. (common ragweed) seed. The germination process was tested for the interaction of temperature and water potential across eight thermo-periods (7.5, 12.5, 17.5, 22.5, 27.5, 32.5, 37.5, and 42.5 C) and 12 water potentials (0, −0.03, −0.06, −0.1, −0.2, −0.4, −0.6, −0.9, −1.2, −1.5, −1.8, and −2.1 mPa). The rate of seedling shoot and radicle elongation was described as a function of temperature and tested for eight day: night temperature treatments (10: 5, 15 : 10, 20 : 15, 25 : 20, 30 : 25, 35 : 30, 40 : 35, and 45 : 40 C). The rate of germination was mathematically modeled by a Weibull function. Probit analysis was used to determine the cardinal temperatures (base, optimum, and maximum) and base water potential (αb ). The base temperature (T b), optimum temperature (T opt), maximum temperature (T max), and αb for A. artemisiifolia germination were estimated as 3.6, 30.9, and 40 C and −0.8 mPa, respectively. The rates of shoot and radicle elongation were described by regression models. The T b , T opt, and T max for shoot and radicle elongation were estimated as 7.7 and 5.1, 29.5 and 31.4, and 43.0 and 44.3 C, respectively. A mathematical model describing the process of A. artemisiifolia seed germination in terms of hydrothermal time (θHT) was derived. The θHT model described the phenology of A. artemisiifolia seed germination using a single curve generated from the relationship of temperature and water potential. This model can help in predicting germination and emergence of A. artemisiifolia under field conditions.

To estimate the potential growth and distribution of itchgrass (Rottboellia exaltata L. f.) in the United States, we grew the plant in 36 combinations of day and night temperatures in controlled-environment greenhouses. Day temperatures ranged from 17 to 32 C and night temperatures from 11 to 26 C. Total dry weights, leaf areas, heights, and numbers of tillers were determined at 3, 31, and 58 days after emergence. Mathematical growth analysis techniques were used to calculate net assimilation rates (NAR) and leaf area durations (LAD). Maximum dry matter production (the product of NAR and LAD) and maximum leaf area production occurred at 32/26 C. Dry matter production and leaf area production were greatly reduced by day temperatures below 29 C and night temperatures below 23 C. The retardation of dry matter production by low night temperature was due mainly to reductions in LAD rather than to reductions in NAR. Low day temperatures reduced dry matter production through combined effects on LAD and NAR. At the warmer day temperatures, tiller production increased with decreasing night temperature. Flowering occurred at all day temperatures and at all night temperatures of 14 C or greater. Based on its growth responses to temperature, itchgrass would reach 75 to 100% of its maximum potential growth in the Gulf Coast states, the lower Midwest, the South Atlantic states, and the Southwest. Therefore, it represents a serious potential weed problem in these regions.

Recent studies have suggested that soybeans express shade avoidance in response to low red : far-red (R : FR) light reflected from neighboring plants and that this response may determine the onset and outcome of crop–weed competition. We tested the hypothesis that the low R : FR ratio would trigger characteristic shade avoidance responses in soybean and that the subsequent phenotype would experience reproductive costs under non–resource-limiting conditions. Soybeans were grown in a fertigation system in field trials conducted in 2007 and 2008 under two light quality treatments: (1) high R : FR ratio (i.e., weed-free) i.e., upward reflected light from a baked clay medium (Turface MVP®), or (2) low R : FR ratio (i.e., weedy) of upward reflected light, from commercial turfgrass. Results of this study indicated that a reduction in the R : FR ratio of light reflected from the surface of turfgrass increased soybean internode elongation, reduced branching, and decreased yield per plant. Shade avoidance also increased the plant-to-plant variability in biomass and yield per plant. Per plant yield losses were, however, more closely associated with reductions in biomass accumulation than population variability as the expression of a shade avoidance response did not influence harvest index. While these results suggest that weed induced shade avoidance decreases soybean per plant yield by reducing branching, it is possible the productivity of a soybean stand as a whole may be buffered against these reduction by a similar, but opposite, expression of plasticity in branching.

Research was conducted to determine the optimum population and row spacing for corn production and for suppressing velvetleaf growth and seed production. Corn was grown in a factorial arrangement of three populations targeted at 64,000 (1 ×), 96,000 (1.5 ×), or 128,000 (2 ×) plants ha−1 and two row spacings of 38 or 76 cm. Influences on corn were determined in weed-free plots, and influences on velvetleaf were determined for target plants established at 1.5–m intervals along the center of corn interrows. Four velvetleaf plantings were made at weekly intervals beginning at corn planting. Corn row spacing had little influence on corn or velvetleaf. Corn yield exhibited a parabolic response to population with a maximum of approximately 90,000 plants ha−1 in one year, no response to population in another year, and a linear decline with increasing population in a dry year. Velvetleaf seed production was reduced 69 to 94% by the 1.5 × population and 99% by the 2 × population compared to the standard 1 × population when velvetleaf emerged with corn. Velvetleaf seed production was eliminated when velvetleaf emerged at or later than corn leaf stages 3, 5, and 6 for corn populations of 2 ×, 1.5 ×, and 1 ×, respectively. Reduced velvetleaf seed production was correlated with lower positioning of plants in the corn canopy and reduced light availability. Results suggest that higher corn populations could aid integrated weed management strategies by reducing seed production and limiting the build-up of weed populations.

Wild oat reduced light penetration and growth of dwarf hard red spring wheat in field experiments performed under nonlimiting nitrogen and moisture conditions. Wild oat grew taller than wheat and had a greater portion of its canopy above 60 cm at maturity. Light penetration in a mixed canopy was similar to that in a monoculture wheat canopy when wild oat was clipped to the height of the wheat. A mathematical model was developed which accurately predicted the reduction in the growth rate of wheat from wild oat interference. The model also predicted that interference from wild oat was due to reduced leaf area of wheat at early growth stages and low wild oat densities, and reduced light penetration to wheat leaves at later growth stages and higher densities of wild oat.

A false cleavers population that survived treatment with triasulfuron/bromoxynil in 1996 was identified in central Alberta, Canada, in a field that had been treated with acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibitors in 3 of the previous 6 yr. In greenhouse studies, this biotype was highly resistant to the ALS inhibitors triasulfuron, thifensulfuron/tribenuron, and sulfometuron and moderately resistant to imazethapyr; GR50, values were > 16, > 5, > 1.0, and 9.9, respectively. In addition, cross-resistance was identified to the auxin-type herbicide quinclorac (GR50 value > 6.7) but not to fluroxypyr (GR50 value 1) or MCPA/mecoprop/dicamba. Quinclorac had not been used previously in this field. Analysis of ALS extracted from the resistant biotype and a susceptible biotype from a nearby location indicated that resistance to ALS inhibitors was due to an altered target site with reduced sensitivity to a broad range of ALS inhibitors. The ALS I50 values for triasulfuron, metsulfuron, chlorsulfuron, thifensulfuron, and imazethapyr were 36, 34, 92, 96, and 14 times higher, respectively, for the resistant compared to the susceptible biotype. The mechanism of resistance to quinclorac is unknown. This is the first report of high-level herbicide resistance in this weed species.

Chinese tamarisk is an invader of riparian sites in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Plant canopy light reflectance measurements showed that Chinese tamarisk had higher visible (0.55- and 0.65-μm wavelengths and 0.63- to 0.69-μm waveband) reflectance than did associated woody and herbaceous plant species in the late fall-early winter period when its foliage turned a yellow-orange to orange-brown color prior to leaf drop. Chinese tamarisk had a yellow-orange color on conventional color (0.40- to 0.70-μm) aerial photographs during this phenological stage that made it distinguishable from other plant species. Computer analyses of conventional color film positive transparencies showed that Chinese tamarisk populations could be quantified from associated vegetation. This technique can permit area estimates of Chinese tamarisk infestations on wildland areas.