Intensified cover-cropping practices are increasingly viewed as a herbicide-resistance management tool but clear distinction between reactive and proactive resistance management performance targets is needed. We evaluated two proactive performance targets for integrating cover-cropping tactics, including (1) facilitation of reduced herbicide inputs and (2) reduced herbicide selection pressure. We conducted corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] field experiments in Pennsylvania and Delaware using synthetic weed seedbanks of horseweed [Conyza canadensis (L.) Cronquist] and smooth pigweed (Amaranthus hybridus L.) to assess winter and summer annual population dynamics, respectively. The effect of alternative cover crops was evaluated across a range of herbicide inputs. Cover crop biomass production ranged from 2,000 to 8,500 kg ha−1 in corn and 3,000 to 5,500 kg ha−1 in soybean. Experimental results demonstrated that herbicide-based tactics were the primary drivers of total weed biomass production, with cover-cropping tactics providing an additive weed-suppression benefit. Substitution of cover crops for PRE or POST herbicide programs did not reduce total weed control levels or cash crop yields but did result in lower net returns due to higher input costs. Cover-cropping tactics significantly reduced C. canadensis populations in three of four cover crop treatments and decreased the number of large rosettes (>7.6-cm diameter) at the time of preplant herbicide exposure. Substitution of cover crops for PRE herbicides resulted in increased selection pressure on POST herbicides, but reduced the number of large individuals (>10 cm) at POST applications. Collectively, our findings suggest that cover crops can reduce the intensity of selection pressure on POST herbicides, but the magnitude of the effect varies based on weed life-history traits. Additional work is needed to describe proactive resistance management concepts and performance targets for integrating cover crops so producers can apply these concepts in site-specific, within-field management practices.

Growth chamber and field experiments were conducted to assess the potential of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tagetis (Pst) as a biocontrol agent for Canada thistle. Silwet L-77, an organosilicone surfactant, was required to facilitate Pst penetration into Canada thistle leaves. Growth chamber experiments indicated that maximum Pst populations inside leaves were obtained with a Silwet L-77 concentration of 0.3% (v/v) or greater. High Pst populations (109 colony-forming units [cfu] per gram fresh weight) were found in leaves 48 h after treatment with 108 or 109 cfu ml−1 Pst plus Silwet L-77 (0.3%, v/v). In growth chamber experiments, foliar application of Pst (109 cfu ml−1) plus Silwet L-77 (0.3%, v/v) on 4- to 5-wk-old Canada thistle reduced shoot dry weight by 52% (measured 14 d after treatment) and chlorophyll content of emerging leaves by 92% (measured 10 d after treatment). In field trials conducted in 1999 and 2000, Pst (109 cfu ml−1) plus Silwet L-77 (0.3%, v/v) were applied at 700 L ha−1, and the method of application (paint gun, backpack sprayer, boom) and the number of applications (one or two separated by 14 d) were examined. Averaged over 2 yr, two applications with a backpack sprayer resulted in 67% disease incidence (apical chlorosis) of treated plants measured 4 wk after the initial treatment (WAIT). At the time of flower bud formation (8 WAIT), there was little or no disease incidence, 31% reduction in plant height, 81% reduction in number of flower buds, and 20% reduction in shoot survival during 1999 but no effect on survival in 2000.

Seeds of plants naturalized in the United States were examined for the presence of elaiosomes. Seeds of 47 species belonging to 13 families (Asteraceae, Boraginaceae, Dipsacaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Fumariaceae, Lamiaceae, Liliaceae, Poaceae, Polygonaceae, Resedaceae, Rosaceae, and Solanaceae) were found to have elaiosomes, indicating that these species are probably mymecochorous, i.e., dispersed by ants. These include important rangeland weeds such as bull thistle, Canada thistle, musk thistle, diffuse knapweed, spotted knapweed, and leafy spurge. Myrmecochory in naturalized species may enhance their weediness in areas where they are established and assist their colonization of new and relatively closed communities.

Under unsaturated-flow conditions, bromacil (5-bromo-3-sec-butyl-6-methyluracil) was considerably more mobile than buthidazole {3-[5-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl]-4-hydroxyl-1-methyl-2-imidazolidinone}. Because of their high water solubilities, both herbicides were much more mobile than atrazine (2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-s-triazine), prometon [2,4-bis (isopropylamino)-6-methoxy-s-triazine], or diuron [3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea]. Under saturated-flow conditions, buthidazole was leached through Lakeland loamy sand in slightly greater amounts than tebuthiuron {N-[5-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl]-N,N′-dimethylurea} or CN-10-3510 (formerly VEL 3510) {1-β,β-dimethoxyl-1-methyl-3-[5-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-1,3, 4-thiadiazol-2-yl] urea}. Distribution of the three herbicides in the leached soil was similar and relatively uniform. In Lakeland loamy sand, 30 times as much tebuthiuron was leached under saturated-flow conditions as under unsaturated-flow conditions. Intermittent saturated-unsaturated-flow conditions resulted in four times as much leaching of tebuthiuron as unsaturated flow alone. Only one-tenth as much tebuthiuron leached under intermittent saturated-unsaturated-flow conditions as under saturated-flow conditions. Tebuthiuron added to Lakeland soil and oven-dried was retained in significantly greater amounts than when added to moist Lakeland soil. Low amounts of tebuthiuron leached through Lakeland loamy sand, Portsmouth sandy loam, and Rains silt loam, but high amounts leached through Davidson clay. Greater amounts of the herbicide were retained in the surface zones of the three former soils, but the inverse was the case for the Davidson soil.

Development of more comprehensive and cost-effective integrated weed management systems is required to facilitate greater integrated weed management adoption by farmers. A field experiment was conducted at two locations to determine the combined effects of seed date (April or May), seed rate (recommended or 150% of recommended), fertilizer timing (applied in fall or spring), and in-crop herbicide dose (50% or 100% of recommended) on weed growth and crop yield. This factorial set of treatments was applied in four consecutive years within a spring wheat–spring canola–spring wheat–spring canola rotation in a zero-till production system. Both wheat and canola phases of the rotation were grown each year. Weed biomass was often lower with May than with April seeding because more weeds were controlled with preplant glyphosate. However, despite fewer weeds being present with May seeding, wheat yield was only greater in 1 of 7 site-years, and canola yield was never greater with May compared with April seeding. Higher crop seed rates had a consistently positive effect on reducing weed growth and the weed seedbank. Crop yield was sometimes greater, and never lower, with higher seed rates. Fertilizer timing did not have a large effect on crop yield, but applying N in the spring compared with fall was less favorable for weeds as indicated by lower weed biomass and a 20% decrease in the weed seedbank. In-crop herbicides applied at 50% compared with 100% doses often resulted in similar weed biomass and crop yield, especially when higher crop seed rates were used. Indeed, the weed seedbank at the conclusion of the 4-yr experiment was not greater with the 50% compared with 100% herbicide dose at one of two locations. This study demonstrates the combined merits of early seeding (April), higher crop seed rates, and spring-applied fertilizer in conjunction with timely but limited herbicide use to manage weeds and maintain high crop yields in rotations containing wheat and canola.

Cover crops represent a potentially important biological filter during weed community assembly in agroecosystems. This filtering could be considered directional if different cover-crop species result in weed communities with predictably different species composition. We examined the following four questions related to the potential filtering effects of cover crops in a field experiment involving five cover crops grown in monoculture and mixture: (1) Do cover crops differ in their effect on weed community composition? (2) Is competition more intense between cover crops and weeds that are in the same family or functional group? (3) Is competition more intense across weed functional types in a cover-crop mixture compared with cover crops grown in monocultures? (4) Within a cover-crop mixture, is a higher seeding rate associated with more effective biotic filtering of the weed community? We found some evidence that cover crops differentially filtered weed communities and that at least some of these filtering effects were due to differential biomass production across cover-crop species. Monocultures of buckwheat and sorghum–sudangrass reduced the number of weed species relative to the no-cover-crop control by an average of 36 and 59% (buckwheat) and 25 and 40% (sorghum–sudangrass) in 2011 and 2012, respectively. We found little evidence that competition intensity was dependent upon the family or functional classification of the cover crop or weeds, or that cover-crop mixtures were stronger assembly filters than the most effective monocultures. Although our results do not suggest that annual cover crops exert strong directional filtering during weed community assembly, our methodological framework for detecting such effects could be applied to similar future studies that incorporate a greater number of cover-crop species and are conducted under a greater range of cover-cropping conditions.

Japanese foxtail is a predominant tetraploid grass weed in wheat and oilseed rape fields in eastern China. In China, pyroxsulam is mainly used to manage annual grass weeds, especially those resistant to acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCase)-inhibiting herbicides. Using dose–response studies, a pyroxsulam-resistant population, ACTC-1, was identified with a resistance index value of 58. Additionally, ACTC-1 was cross-resistant to sulfonylureas, imidazolinones, triazolopyrimidines, pyrimidinyl-benzoates, and sulfonylaminocarbonyl-triazolinones and multiresistant to ACCase and photosystem II inhibitors. Sequence analysis revealed four gene fragments encoding acetolactate synthase (ALS) from ACTC-1, and three from JNXW-1, a pyroxsulam-sensitive population. An Asp-376-Glu substitution was found in ALS1;2 and an Ile-2041-Asn in Acc1;1, which may be responsible for its resistance to pyroxsulam and ACCase inhibitors, respectively. In vitro assays of ALS activity revealed that in ACTC-1, the sensitivity of ALS to pyroxsulam was lower, and the basal ALS activity was twofold higher than that of sensitive population JNXW-1. Additionally, the combined application of pyroxsulam with malathion or piperonyl butoxide increased the sensitivity of ACTC-1 to pyroxsulam, although it could not completely overcome the resistance. It was inferred that both target-site-based resistance and nontarget-site-based resistance may be involved in the resistance to pyroxsulam.

Consistent with field observations, sicklepod exhibited considerable tolerance to sulfentrazone, and coffee senna showed relatively high sensitivity to this herbicide in greenhouse tests. Germination was not inhibited in either species at up to 12.9 μM of the herbicide. However, the chlorophyll content of herbicide-treated coffee senna cotyledonary leaves was greatly reduced, and seedlings died within 10 d after treatment, while sicklepod seedlings were not visibly affected. Shoot height of coffee senna was inhibited 90% by sulfentrazone at 0.5 kg ai ha−1, while the growth of sicklepod was not affected up to 2.0 kg ai ha−1. Root uptake of radiolabeled sulfentrazone was 74% greater in coffee senna than sicklepod, but the amount of radioactivity recovered from the shoots of both species after 12 h was not different. Eighty-three percent of the parent compound remained in coffee senna leaf tissue after 9 h root exposure to the herbicide. In contrast, sicklepod took up relatively less sulfentrazone through the root and metabolized sulfentrazone in the foliage more rapidly than coffee senna, with 91.6% of the herbicide being metabolized during the first 9 h of exposure. These results suggest that the tolerance of sicklepod to sulfentrazone is primarily due to a relatively high rate of metabolism of the herbicide compared to coffee senna.

Field experiments were conducted to study the effects of jimsonweed (Datura stramonium L.) densities and planting dates on the growth and yield of soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr. ‘Amsoy 71’]. Jimsonweed densities of 1.5 and 2 plants/m2 did not reduce the dry weight of soybean leaf, stem, root, or pod and seed tissues, leaf area index, plant height, pod number, or seed yield when soybeans and jimsonweed were planted at the same time. Weed densities ranging from 3 to 16 plants/m2 did reduce one or more of these soybean growth parameters. A significant density-by-year interaction was observed in which soybean growth reductions caused by high jimsonweed densities were less when competition for water was minimized by above-average precipitation in 1 of the 2 yr. No density of jimsonweed that emerged when soybeans were at the fourth trifoliolate-leaf stage reduced crop growth or yield.

Glyphosate and 2,4-D have been commonly used for control of common and giant ragweed before planting of corn and soybean in the midwestern United States. Because these herbicides are primarily applied in early spring, environmental factors such as temperature may influence their efficacy. The objectives of this study were to (1) evaluate the influence of temperature on the efficacy of 2,4-D or glyphosate for common and giant ragweed control and the level of glyphosate resistance and (2) determine the underlying physiological mechanisms (absorption and translocation). Glyphosate-susceptible (GS) and glyphosate-resistant (GR) common and giant ragweed biotypes from Nebraska were used for glyphosate dose–response studies, and GR biotypes were used for 2,4-D dose–response studies conducted at two temperatures (day/night [d/n]; low temperature [LT]: 20/11 C d/n; high temperature [HT]: 29/17 C d/n). Results indicate improved efficacy of 2,4-D or glyphosate at HT compared with LT for common and giant ragweed control regardless of susceptibility or resistance to glyphosate. The level of glyphosate resistance decreased in both the species at HT compared with LT, primarily due to more translocation at HT. More translocation of 2,4-D in GR common and giant ragweed at HT compared with LT at 96 h after treatment could be the reason for improved efficacy. Similarly, higher translocation in common ragweed and increased absorption and translocation in giant ragweed resulted in greater efficacy of glyphosate at HT compared with LT. It is concluded that the efficacy of 2,4-D or glyphosate for common and giant ragweed control can be improved if applied at warm temperatures (29/17 C d/n) due to increased absorption and/or translocation compared with applications during cooler temperatures (20/11 C d/n).

Knowledge of weed emergence periodicity can inform the timing and choice of weed management tactics. We tested the effects of weed management system (conventional [CNV] and herbicide-free [HF]), timing of rye sowing (two dates), timing of soybean planting (5 planting dates, 3 in each system), and supplemental control (with and without) on weed suppression and weed community composition in soybean no-till planted into a cereal rye cover crop. Cereal rye was terminated with a roller-crimper and herbicide (CNV) or with a roller-crimper alone (HF), and supplemental weed control was achieved with a postemergence glyphosate application (CNV) or with interrow high-residue cultivation (HF). Supplemental control with glyphosate in CNV was more effective than high-residue cultivation in HF. When soybean was planted on the same date, CNV resulted in less weed biomass and a more even community composition, whereas HF resulted in greater weed biomass, dominated by common ragweed. When we controlled for cereal rye biomass and compared the effects of cereal rye sowing and termination timing within each system, earlier management reduced weed biomass in HF, but tended to increase weed biomass in CNV. Our results suggest the ability to control emerged weeds prior to soybean planting is an important factor that influences the optimal cereal rye cover crop management timing for weed suppression.

The photolytic degradation of several imidazolinone herbicides in solution and on soil was investigated. Ultraviolet light caused 100% degradation of imazaquin, imazethapyr, and imazapyr, and 87 and 8% degradation of imazamethabenz and atrazine in aqueous solutions, respectively, after 48 h. The order of susceptibility to photolysis in decreasing order was imazaquin = imazethapyr > imazapyr > imazamethabenz > atrazine. In soil Studies, 45% of imazaquin and 52% of imazethapyr dissipated from moist sand after 48 h of exposure. Herbicide dissipation on air-dry sand and on field capacity and air-dry silty clay loam was less than 10% in most instances. Atrazine photolysis was not detected. This research indicates that photolysis of imidazolinone herbicides in solution is rapid. Photolysis on soil occurs readily on coarse-textured wet soils probably due to greater availability of the herbicide for photochemical alteration.

Field studies were conducted in 2002 and 2003 to determine whether canopy formation influences pitted morningglory, common cocklebur, and sicklepod emergence in surface-tilled soybean. Each weed species was broadcast seeded before planting soybean in 19- and 97-cm-wide rows. Weed emergence beneath soybean was monitored after soybean emergence and compared with weed emergence in the absence of soybean (bareground treatment). Magnitude of daily diurnal soil temperature fluctuations diminished after soybean canopy formation, and light interception by soybean was positively related to the reduction in soil temperature. Canopy formation (50% light interception) occurred 16 to 17 d later in wide compared with narrow rows in both years. The red/far-red ratio of light available to seed on or near the soil surface was reduced from as much as 1.2 in full sunlight to less than 0.1 in the presence of a dense soybean canopy. Pitted morningglory emergence was not influenced by soybean canopy formation, whereas common cocklebur and sicklepod emergence were reduced as much as 33 and 68%, respectively. Although common cocklebur and sicklepod emergence diminished after soybean canopy formation, a small portion of the seedbank of both species emerged beneath the canopy. This research indicates that in a tilled system, emergence of some weed species is diminished by presence of an overlying canopy, but emergence does not completely cease with canopy formation. Late-season emergence of sicklepod and common cocklebur beneath a soybean canopy may contribute to replenishment of the soil seedbank, especially if these late-emerging cohorts are capable of surviving until the light environment is favorable for seed production.

Peanuts [Arachis hypogaea (L.) ‘Florunner’], infested with sicklepod (Cassia obtusifolia L.) and Florida beggarweed [Desmodium tortuosum (Sw.) DC.] were grown in 20.3-, 40.6-, and 81.2-cm rows on Dothan sandy loam at Headland, Alabama, and on Greenville sandy clay loam at Plains, Georgia. In-row seeding rates were equal, regardless of row width. Peanuts were maintained free of sicklepod and Florida beggarweed for 0, 2, and 5 weeks after emergence or throughout the season. In either the absence or presence of weeds, peanut yields generally increased with decreasing row width. Quality of peanuts was not adversely affected; in fact, desirable attributes such as percent sound mature kernels (SMK's) were sometimes increased as the row width decreased. Weed growth with close rows was much less than with standard 81.2-cm rows. Although yields of peanuts were lower with increasing time of weed competition, the influence of row spacing on competitiveness of the peanut canopy remained relatively constant on both soil types. Generally, weeds from either seeded or natural stands produced equivalent competitive results.

Residues of legume crops used to increase soil fertility may also serve as sources of phytotoxins that can suppress the germination and early growth of weed and crop species. To test the hypothesis that weed and crop susceptibility to extracts of red clover shoots would be inversely proportional to seed mass, we (1) identified 18 weeds and 44 crops whose 100-seed masses ranged from 20 to 26,250 mg; (2) exposed their seeds in petri dishes and filter paper to a 2% aqueous extract of ‘Marathon’ red clover shoots or distilled water; and (3) measured germination percentage and radicle length of germinated seeds after incubation for 4 days. In a second experiment, we assessed germination and radicle growth of four crop and four weed species after exposure to 1% extracts of Marathon or ‘Cherokee’ red clover or distilled water. Germination inhibition by red clover extracts was greatest for lighter seeds and least for heavier seeds in Experiment 1 (P = 0.0005), but was unrelated to seed mass in Experiment 2. Radicle inhibition by red clover extracts was inversely proportional to seed mass in both Experiment 1 (P < 0.0001) and Experiment 2 (P = 0.0047), and, in Experiment 1, was greater for monocots than dicots (P = 0.0002). Our findings corroborate the general relationship between seed mass and stress tolerance observed by other investigators and indicate that small-seeded monocots are most likely to be susceptible to phytotoxins contained in red clover shoots.

Rates of loss of trifluralin (α,α,α-trifluoro-2,6-dinitro-N,N-dipropyl-p-toluidine), fluchloralin [N-(2-chloroethyl)-2,6-dinitro-N-propyl-4-(trifluoromethyl)aniline], and pendimethalin [N-(1-ethylpropyl)-3,4-dimethyl-2,6-dinitrobenzenamine] from soil surfaces were evaluated in a series of field sampling studies. Herbicides were sprayed onto soil enclosed in rings with nylon mesh bottoms, exposed to field conditions, and analyzed periodically by gas chromatography. The herbicides were lost rapidly in the first 3 to 5 days from Bosket silt loam and Sharkey clay, although the initial rate of loss was less rapid in the clay. Trifluralin and fluchloralin were lost more rapidly than pendimethalin. Half-life values for the first 3 to 5 days for trifluralin, fluchloralin, and pendimethalin, respectively, were 2, 1.5, and 4 days on silt loam and 2, 4, and 6 days on clay. Rates of loss were much lower for the remainder of the 7- or 12-day sampling periods. Rainfall on the first day of the sampling period resulted in increased initial loss of all herbicides. Shading from direct sunlight greatly reduced the loss of fluchloralin and pendimethalin as compared to exposure to full sunlight, although trifluralin loss remained fairly rapid under shaded conditions. Simulated rainfall on the first day resulted in significantly increased dissipation of fluchloralin and pendimethalin.

A dense bloom of the blue-green alga, Anabaena variabilis Kuetzing suddenly died in a pond heavily stocked with channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus L.). Low light intensity caused the formation of gas vacuoles in A. variabilis. The buoyant filaments accumulated at the surface in large numbers during a period of calm, warm weather. Light injury to cells in the surface scum apparently triggered the mass mortality of phytoplankton. Decomposition of dead algae quickly resulted in depletion of dissolved oxygen. Concentrations of CO2 and ammonia increased to high levels and the pH declined following the phytoplankton die-off. A period of 7 days was required for re-establishment of a phytoplankton community and little improvement in water quality occurred until high densities of healthy phytoplankters were present. Massive mortality of fish was prevented by pumping oxygenated water into the pond at two sites and by mechanically agitating surface water in a limited area.

The relation between soil moisture and the effectiveness of preemergence herbicides for control of giant foxtail (Setaria faberii Herrm.) was studied under greenhouse conditions using surface soil from Drummer silty clay loam with 25, 31, and 37% moisture. Herbicides used were 2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-s-triazine (atrazine), ethyl N,N-dipropylthiocarbamate (EPTC), 3-amino-2,5-dichlorobenzoic acid (amiben), α,α,α-trifluoro-2,6-dinitro-N,N-dipropyl-p-toluidine (trifluralin), 2-chloro-N-isopropylacetanilide (propachlor), and 2-chloro-N-(methoxymethyl)-2',6'-diethyl-acetanilide (hereinafter referred to as CP 50144). The effectiveness of atrazine and EPTC was increased when soil moisture was raised from 25 to 31%, but no further increase was obtained at 37% moisture. Response to amiben increased linearly and response to trifluralin decreased linearly with increasing moisture. Increasing moisture within this range had little effect on propachlor or CP 50144.

Field studies were conducted in 1996, 1997, and 1998 to determine the effectiveness of several grasses as filter strips for reducing sediment and herbicide losses in runoff. Big bluestem, eastern gamagrass, switchgrass, and tall fescue reduced total runoff volume by at least 55, 76, 49, and 46%, respectively. Within the 127-d sampling period, each perennial grass filter strip investigated reduced total sediment loss in surface runoff by at least 66%. All four species reduced total fluometuron loss in runoff at least 59%. Big bluestem and eastern gamagrass reduced norflurazon loss in runoff 63 and 86%, respectively. When a filter strip was present, fluometuron and norflurazon losses did not exceed 5 and 3% of the total applied, respectively, compared to 12 and 5%, respectively, when a filter strip was not present.

Weedy species of the genus Amaranthus, commonly referred to as pigweeds, have increased in frequency and severity over the past few years. Identification of these weeds is difficult because of similar morphological characteristics among species and variation within species. Studies were initiated to develop a molecular marker identification system utilizing restriction enzyme analysis of amplified ribosomal DNA (rDNA). A set of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) markers was developed to distinguish 10 weedy species of pigweeds. Restriction-site variation, utilizing five endonucleases, within the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of the rDNA allowed for the positive identification of eight species and one pair of species. These markers will be useful for biological and ecological studies on the genus.