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Effects of Seeding Date and Weed Control on Switchgrass Establishment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

William S. Curran*
Affiliation:
Department of Crop and Soil Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
Matthew R. Ryan
Affiliation:
Department of Crop and Soil Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
Matthew W. Myers
Affiliation:
USDA-ARS Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit, University Park, PA 16802
Paul R. Adler
Affiliation:
USDA-ARS Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit, University Park, PA 16802
*
Corresponding author's Email: [email protected]

Abstract

We tested the effects of seeding date and weed control during switchgrass establishment in a field experiment that was conducted in central Pennsylvania in 2007 and repeated in 2008. Switchgrass was no-till seeded in early May, late May, and mid-June, and three postemergence weed management treatments were evaluated, including Mow (only a single mowing), Broadleaf (2,4-D + dicamba), and Broad Spectrum (2,4-D + dicamba + atrazine + quinclorac). Switchgrass density increased at later seeding dates, except in 2008, when the middle seeding date had the lowest density. In both years, weed biomass in late summer was lowest in the last seeding date of the Broad Spectrum treatment. In contrast, switchgrass biomass in late summer was greatest in the first seeding date of the Broad Spectrum treatment in both years. In the year after establishment (production year), plots were split to test the effects of supplemental weed control, composed of metsulfuron + 2,4-D applied in May, on total aboveground yield. Supplemental control in the production year increased total aboveground yield in the Mow treatment only, indicating that effective weed control during the establishment year might reduce the need for weed control in the following year. Although maximum aboveground yield was achieved when switchgrass was seeded in May and herbicides were used, results from our experiment suggest that seeding switchgrass at a relatively high seeding rate in June in our study region and mowing annual weeds to reduce competition and prevent seed production could be an effective strategy if minimizing herbicide use is a priority.

Evaluamos los efectos de la fecha de siembra y el control de malezas durante el establecimiento de Panicum virgatum en un experimento de campo que se realizó en el centro de Pennsylvania en 2007 y se repitió en 2008. P. virgatum fue sembrado con cero labranza a principios y a finales de mayo y a mediados de junio y se evaluaron tres tratamientos posemergentes de manejo de malezas incluyendo chapia (solo un corte), aplicación de 2,4-D + dicamba para hoja ancha y aplicación de herbicidas de amplio espectro (2,4-D + dicamba + atrazine + quinclorac). La densidad de P. virgatum se incrementó en las siembras de fecha más tardías, excepto en 2008, cuando la fecha de siembra intermedia tuvo la densidad más baja. En ambos años, la biomasa de la maleza a fines del verano fue más baja con el tratamiento de amplio espectro con la última fecha de siembra. En contraste, la biomasa de P. virgatum fue la mayor al final del verano en el tratamiento de amplio espectro con la primera fecha de siembra en ambos años. En el año siguiente a su establecimiento (año de producción), las parcelas se dividieron para evaluar los efectos del control suplementario de malezas sobre el rendimiento total de biomasa aérea, realizando una aplicación de metsulfuron + 2,4-D en mayo. El control suplementario en el año de producción incrementó el rendimiento total de biomasa aérea solamente en el tratamiento con chapia, lo que indica que el control efectivo de malezas durante el año de establecimiento puede reducir la necesidad de control de malezas al año siguiente. Aunque el rendimiento máximo de biomasa aérea se logró cuando P. virgatum se sembró en mayo y se usaron herbicidas, los resultados de nuestro experimento sugieren que sembrar P. virgatum a una densidad relativamente alta en junio en nuestra región de estudio y chapear las malezas anuales para reducir la competencia y prevenir la producción de semillas, puede ser una estrategia efectiva si la prioridad es minimizar el uso de herbicidas.

Type
Weed Management—Other Crops/AREAS
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

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