Field experiments were conducted across the north-central United States to determine the benefits of various weed control strategies in corn. Weed control, corn yield, and economic return increased when a preemergence (PRE) broad-spectrum herbicide was followed by (fb) postemergence (POST) herbicides. Weed control decisions based on field scouting after a PRE broad-spectrum herbicide application increased weed control and economic return. Application of a PRE grass herbicide fb a POST herbicide based on field scouting resulted in less control of velvetleaf and morningglory species, corn yield, and economic return compared with a PRE broad-spectrum herbicide application fb scouting. Cultivation after a PRE broad-spectrum herbicide application increased weed control and corn yield compared with the herbicide applied alone, but economic return was not increased. An early-postemergence herbicide application fb cultivation resulted in the highest level of broadleaf weed control, the highest corn yield, and the greatest economic return compared with all other strategies. Weed control based on scouting proved to be useful in reducing the effect of weed escapes on corn yield and increased economic return compared with PRE herbicide application alone. However, economic return was not greater than the PRE fb planned POST or total POST strategies.

Studies were conducted to compare foliar- and root-based absorption and translocation of SC-0051 in corn and soybean using radio-tracer techniques. Visual injury symptoms expressed in soybean by SC-0051 were bleaching in newly formed (meristematic) tissue followed by necrosis. Corn expressed little to no visual injury. SC-0051 was absorbed more rapidly by foliage of corn and soybean than by their roots. Although soybean absorbed more SC-0051 through roots than did corn, there was no difference between species in foliar absorption of SC-0051. SC-0051 was rapidly translocated throughout corn plants but was concentrated mainly in the meristematic tissue of soybean. Even though there were slight differences in absorption and translocation of SC-0051 in corn and soybean, it is likely that differential metabolism of the herbicide explains selectivity.

This study compared the effect of weed control and orchard floor management (OFMA) options including organic mulch on summer annual weed interference in a newly established peach orchard. Weed interference where no preemergence (PRE) herbicides were applied, including vole damage, caused 29% peach tree mortality, reduced tree trunk cross-sectional area (TCSA) 62% by the fourth year of orchard establishment, and reduced fruit yield and fruit number in 1999 by 73 and 75%, respectively, but had no effect on fruit size. Compared with a no-till or conventionally tilled orchard floor, the population of grassy weeds within the tree row was greater in killed perennial ryegrass sod (PRS) plus hard fescue residue mulch treatments but was less in killed PRS plus tall fescue residue mulch treatments. Among the no-PRE treatments, the tree row broadleaf weed populations were suppressed in killed PRS with or without the addition of fescue residue mulch to the tree row when compared with the no-till or conventionally tilled orchard floor treatments. PRE herbicide treatments strongly affected peach fruit yield and TCSA but not average fruit size. There was no effect among the killed PRS, with or without hard or tall fescue residue mulch treatments, on peach fruit yield, TCSA, or average fruit size when compared with the no-till or conventionally tilled orchard floor treatment options. All treatments with herbicide had higher yields in 1999 than those without herbicides.

Imazethapyr applied to the soil at 0, 35, 53, 70, 87, 105, and 140 g ai/ha followed by (fb) early-postemergence (EPOST) or late-postemergence (LPOST) applications at 140, 105, 87, 70, 53, 35, and 0 g ai/ha, respectively, was evaluated for weed control, crop tolerance, and grain yield in imidazolinone-tolerant rice. In drill- and water-seeded rice, imazethapyr effectively controlled barnyardgrass 91 to 97% with a soil fb EPOST or LPOST application except when applied at 105 fb 35 g/ha EPOST at 49 d after late-postemergence treatment. Rice yields were 5,920 and 3,920 kg/ ha in the drill-seeded study with a single application of imazethapyr at 140 g/ha EPOST in 2000 and 2001, respectively. These yields were greater than or equal to those from treatments with two imazethapyr applications.

The earliest possible seeding of wheat crops in the southern Australian dryland cropping zone is prevented by the lack of a weed control practice that adequately controls initial weed seedling emergence at the start of the growing season. The objective of this study was to determine the potential for using residual herbicides applied up to 1 mo before the start of the growing season to control rigid ryegrass seedlings that emerge after the season-opening rains. In a series of glasshouse studies, S-metolachlor and propyzamide were found to effectively persist on the soil surface through prolonged exposure to hot, dry, and intense sunlight conditions, preventing the establishment of rigid ryegrass seedlings. In addition, these herbicides caused little or no effect on subsequently seeded wheat. It also was determined that S-metolachlor had the potential to retain efficacy on rigid ryegrass seedlings after 12 wk of exposure on the soil surface to these conditions. These studies have identified two herbicides with the potential for use at the novel application timing, i.e., before the commencement of the growing season, in Mediterranean climates of southern Australia.

The effects of cogongrass foliage and root residue extracts on germination and radicle and coleoptile growth of barnyardgrass, browntop millet, bermudagrass, hemp sesbania, Italian ryegrass, and prickly sida were investigated in laboratory experiments. Liquid extracts of cogongrass foliage and root residues at concentrations of 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 8% were evaluated on bermudagrass and Italian ryegrass. Effects of 8% foliage or root residue extracts were investigated on hemp sesbania, prickly sida, barnyardgrass, and browntop millet. Cogongrass residue (foliage and root) extracts at concentrations as low as 0.5% inhibited germination and seedling growth of bermudagrass and Italian ryegrass. Germination of bermudagrass and Italian ryegrass was reduced by as much as 62% and radicle and coleoptile growth by as much as 96% at the highest extract concentrations. Foliage and root residue extracts reduced germination of barnyardgrass, browntop millet, and prickly sida 52 to 64% and seedling growth by as much as 96%. Cogongrass extracts had no effect on germination or seedling development of hemp sesbania. Results indicate that extracts of cogongrass may contain allelochemicals that may contribute to its invasiveness and extreme competitiveness.

Effects of soil pH and cation exchange capacity (CEC) on sunflower tolerance to sulfentrazone were investigated in a greenhouse study. Variables were soil pH (7.0, 7.3, 7.5, and 7.8), soil CEC (8.2, 13.7, 18.4, and 23.3 cmol/kg), and sulfentrazone rate (0, 105, 158, and 184 g ai/ha). Sulfentrazone-induced leaf chlorosis was affected by soil pH at 12 d after planting (DAP), but plants recovered, and earlier differences were not visible 9 d later. At 12 DAP, leaf chlorosis was 3 or 4% more severe in soils with pH 7.3 or higher compared with soils with pH 7.0 when averaged over both sulfentrazone rate and soil CEC. Leaf chlorosis resulting from sulfentrazone rates of 105, 158, and 184 g/ha was 17, 25, and 35% less at 23 cmol/kg than at 8.2 cmol/kg, respectively. Differences in chlorosis among sulfentrazone rates were greatest in soil with low CEC and lessened as soil CEC increased. Plants regained normal color over time, and newly emerging leaves were not affected. However, plant dry weights were reduced when sulfentrazone rate was ≥158 g/ha. Averaged over sulfentrazone rate and soil pH, sunflower dry weights were less when soil CEC was 8.2 compared with a CEC of 13.7 cmol/kg or higher, indicating a greater response at low CEC. Sunflower plant dry matter was not different in sulfentrazone-treated soil with a CEC above 13.7 cmol/kg. At the ranges tested, soil CEC had a considerably greater effect than did pH on sunflower tolerance to sulfentrazone.

A replicated field trial was conducted to determine the effective rates of tebuthiuron for control of individual tall larkspur plants in the mountains near Emery, UT, Cedar City, UT, and Yampa, CO. The size of larkspur plants was measured, and tebuthiuron was applied to the base of each plant at 0.1, 0.21, and 0.5 g product/1,000 cm2 of foliar crown cover. Tebuthiuron at 0.21 g/ 1,000 cm2 rate controlled 62% of the plants. Tebuthiuron at 0.5 g/1,000 cm controlled 78% of the plants (2.5 g for an average-sized plant of 5,000 cm2). The high clay content of the soils at Emery or high organic matter content of soils at Cedar City or Yampa did not adversely affect efficacy.

Tolerance of six soft red winter wheat cultivars to AE F130060 00 plus AE F115008 00 applied at 12.5 plus 2.5 g ai/ha and 25 plus 5 g ai/ha, respectively, at the two- to three-tiller stage was examined under weed-free conditions at four locations over 2 yr. Visible injury averaged 5 and 15% 3 wk after treatment (WAT) in years 1 and 2, respectively. Injury was 2% or less 10 WAT. No differences among cultivars were noted for visible injury, and AE F130060 00 plus AE F115008 00 did not reduce grain yield in year 1. In year 2, averaged over herbicide rates, grain yields of the cultivars ‘Coker 9663’, ‘Pioneer 2580’, ‘Coker 9704’, ‘Pioneer 2684’, ‘FFR 555’, and ‘Jackson’ were reduced 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, and 16%, respectively. The yield reduction for Jackson was different from those for the other cultivars. Yield reduction was attributed to reduced numbers of kernels per spike.

Studies were conducted to determine whether glufosinate treatments to glufosinate-resistant cotton caused changes in floral morphology, pollen viability, and seed set. Four glufosinate treatments were included: (1) glufosinate applied postemergence over the top (POST) at the four-leaf stage, (2) glufosinate applied POST at the eight-leaf stage, (3) the first two treatments sequentially, and (4) a POST application at the four-leaf stage followed by (fb) a postemergence-directed stem application (PDS) at the eight-leaf stage. Glufosinate was consistently applied at 0.49 kg ai/ha. A nontreated control was included. Glufosinate treatments did not affect stigma height, length of the staminal column, or pollen viability. However, the distance from the top anther to the tip of the stigma was less in plants treated with an eight-leaf POST treatment than in nontreated plants, although this difference is not likely to influence pollen deposition because in both cases anthers reached above the stigma tip. Plants receiving four-leaf POST fb eight-leaf PDS treatment with glufosinate had eight seeds per boll less than nontreated plants; however, the more rigorous four-leaf POST fb eight-leaf POST treatment did not differ from the nontreated in seeds per boll.

Germination experiments were conducted in petri dishes to test the effect of vetiver oil and one of its minor components, nootkatone, on six common weed species. Vetiver oil inhibited germination of redroot pigweed, common lambsquarters, giant ragweed, pitted morningglory, and velvetleaf. Nootkatone, at much higher concentrations than it occurs in the oil, exhibited germination inhibition for all weed species except velvetleaf. Redroot pigweed was the most sensitive species with germination inhibition at 0.1 to 1.0 mg/ml of vetiver oil and nootkatone. At 1.0 to 8.0 mg/ml, nootkatone reduced germination of giant ragweed by 24 to 92%, whereas vetiver oil reduced the germination only by 6 to 11%. Vetiver oil and nootkatone also inhibited seedling expansion of redroot pigweed and common lambsquarters. No significant inhibition of germination and seedling expansion was found for sicklepod. These laboratory studies provide preliminary evidence that nootkatone and vetiver oil may have use as herbicides.

An experiment was conducted at five locations in North Carolina during 2000 and 2001 to evaluate weed control, crop injury, and cotton yield. Weed management systems included different combinations of pyrithiobac preemergence (PRE), fluometuron PRE, CGA-362622 postemergence (POST), pyrithiobac POST, and monosodium salt of methylarsonic acid (MSMA) plus prometryn applied late POST-directed (LAYBY). At Goldsboro in 2000, cotton was injured 74 to 78% by CGA-362622 POST when evaluated 4 to 7 d after treatment (DAT). Injury at Clayton, Goldsboro, and Lewiston in 2001 and Rocky Mount in 2000 was less than 16% 4 to 7 DAT with the same treatment and was not apparent by 62 DAT. CGA-362622 controlled common lambsquarters, common ragweed, Palmer amaranth, sicklepod, smooth pigweed, and Ipomoea species including entireleaf, ivyleaf, and pitted morningglory, and the addition of pyrithiobac to the herbicide system, either PRE or POST, increased control of Amaranthus species, jimsonweed, and prickly sida. CGA-362622 did not control jimsonweed or prickly sida. Fluometuron PRE, pyrithiobac PRE, and MSMA plus prometryn LAYBY were beneficial for increasing weed control and cotton lint yields. Prometryn plus MSMA LAYBY increased control of common ragweed, entireleaf morningglory, jimsonweed, pitted morningglory, and smooth pigweed and provided higher cotton yields than similar systems without a LAYBY. The greatest weed control and greatest cotton lint yields required complete weed management systems that included a combination of PRE, POST, and LAYBY treatments.

Knowing when weed species are likely to emerge can aid in developing effective integrated weed management programs. When using nonresidual herbicides such as glyphosate for weed control, treatment timing is critical. This study characterized the emergence patterns of common lambsquarters, common sunflower, common waterhemp, eastern black nightshade, ivyleaf morningglory, shattercane, and woolly cupgrass in soybean, in relation to common glyphosate application timings. Approximately 90% or more of common lambsquarters, common sunflower, and common waterhemp seedlings emerged before the end of May, both in 2000 and 2001. Both ivyleaf morningglory and shattercane emerged from late April to mid-August, allowing these species to avoid glyphosate applications timed to prevent early-season weed competition. Avoidance through periodicity in emergence underscores the importance of integrating multiple tactics to ensure that difficult to manage weeds are not selected for in this management system.

With increased reliance on glyphosate for weed control, weed species composition shifts are likely. Changes in relative abundance could arise from differential tolerance or resistance to, or avoidance of, glyphosate. This study characterized the potential changes in seedbank composition of a mixed population of summer annual weeds due to glyphosate application timing. Seven weeds common in soybean fields in the Midwest were introduced at known densities and treated with glyphosate at several treatment timings. Common lambsquarters, common sunflower, common waterhemp, eastern black nightshade, ivyleaf morningglory, shattercane, and woolly cupgrass were selected to represent a range of emergence patterns and tolerances to glyphosate. Seedling emergence and seed production were monitored. Differences in herbicide tolerance and avoidance, through markedly different weed emergence patterns, were strong contributors to projected changes in weed species composition. Lessened sensitivity to glyphosate allowed some emerged species, such as ivyleaf morningglory, to better survive the herbicide. Late emergence allowed others, such as shattercane and ivyleaf morningglory, to avoid glyphosate applications. Such mechanisms may allow specific species to increase in a continuous glyphosate system.

Experiments were conducted from 2000 to 2002 at two locations each year to determine if lactofen and imazethapyr injury to soybean could be detected using digital aerial imagery and ground-based optical remote sensing. Lactofen and imazethapyr were applied at base rates of 105 and 71 g/ha, respectively, and at 0, 2X, and 4X rates. Treated plots were evaluated between 7 and 21 d after treatment for crop injury using a ground-based radiometer and a system using computer analysis of digital aerial imagery. Both the ground-based radiometer and the digital aerial imagery were effective in detecting herbicide injury under most conditions. The digital aerial imagery system was found to be more sensitive in detecting herbicide injury than the ground-based radiometer system. Herbicide or herbicide rate had a significant effect on normalized differential vegetation indices (NDVI) derived from digital aerial imagery in four of four site-years. NDVI values derived from a multispectral ground-based radiometer were significant for herbicide or herbicide rate in four of six site-years. NDVI values from treated plots were subtracted from the NDVI value of the untreated check to generate a ΔNDVI. The resulting ΔNDVI values from the ground-based radiometer system were significant for herbicide or herbicide rate in six of six site-years. Neither optical remote-sensing system was effective at estimating actual application rates of lactofen and imazethapyr across a broad range of field and weather conditions due to temporal and spatial variability in crop response to the herbicides.

Field trials were conducted in Virginia to evaluate trumpetcreeper control with glyphosate and conventional herbicide systems in double-crop glyphosate-resistant soybean. When compared with the untreated control, none of the conventional herbicide systems evaluated in these trials provided any reductions in the trumpetcreeper stem density at 1 yr after treatment (YAT). Glyphosate systems generally provided much higher levels of trumpetcreeper stem reduction than conventional herbicide systems. By 1 YAT, densities of trumpetcreeper that received conventional herbicide treatments ranged from 97 to 141% of the initial population, whereas densities of trumpetcreeper that received preemergence (PRE) followed by postemergence (POST) or POST-only applications of the isopropylamine (IPA) or diammonium (DIA) salts of glyphosate ranged from 30 to 66% of the initial population. However, PRE applications of the IPA or DIA salts of glyphosate generally provided lower levels of trumpetcreeper stem reduction than PRE followed by POST or POST-only applications. These results indicate that glyphosate applications made later in the growing season will provide greater trumpetcreeper stem reductions than those made at or close to soybean planting in double-crop soybean production systems. Glyphosate systems did not provide higher soybean yields than the untreated control that contained trumpetcreeper only when densities averaged 6 trumpetcreeper stems/m2 in 2000, but 12 of the 16 glyphosate-containing treatments provided higher soybean yields than the untreated control that contained trumpetcreeper only when densities averaged 13 stems/m2 in 2001.

Field studies conducted for two growing seasons evaluated the effect of 2,4-D applied at 1.6 kg ai/ha to ‘LCP 85-384’ sugarcane 7, 5, 3, and 1 wk before planting (WBP). Sugarcane was planted in mid September using both whole stalks and billet (45 cm) stem sections. When 2,4-D was applied 5 wk or closer to planting, sugarcane shoot emergence and population averaged across planting methods and years were reduced up to 28 wk after planting (WAP) relative to the nontreated control. By 52 WAP, sugarcane had compensated and stalk population was equivalent among treatments. Sugarcane height in response to 2,4-D varied between years, and only in 2001 at 52 WAP was a height reduction observed when 2,4-D was applied 1, 3, or 5 WBP. Crop injury in 2001 was further reflected in reduced sugarcane yield (at least 11%) and sugar yield (at least 12%) more than 1 yr after 2,4-D had been applied 5 wk or closer to harvest of sugarcane for seed. Sugarcane and sugar yields were equivalent for the nontreated control and the 7 WBP 2,4-D treatment in 2001, but 2,4-D application in 2002 did not negatively affect yield. Even though sugarcane shoot populations across the growing seasons were consistently higher for the billet planting system, yields averaged across 2,4-D application timings were greater for billets (18%) compared with whole stalks only for the first year. Because 2,4-D can have a residual effect on sugarcane yield more than 1 yr after the initial foliar application, a 7-wk period should be allowed between herbicide application and harvest of LCP 85-384 for billet or whole-stalk planting.

Three experiments were conducted in Lewiston, NC, from 1999 through 2002 to evaluate the influence of various application timings of flumioxazin preplant (PP) and postemergence-directed spray (PDS) on cotton injury. In experiment 1, flumioxazin was evaluated in a reduced-tillage system at 71, 105, or 140 g ai/ha in mixture with glyphosate, applied at 28, 14, or 7 d before planting (DBP), followed by irrigation at cotton emergence. Flumioxazin applied PP at any rate and irrigated at emergence injured cotton less than 7% at 2 wk after emergence (WAE) and less than 6% 5 WAE. In experiment 2, flumioxazin was evaluated in a conventional-tillage system at 71 or 105 g/ha as a PDS treatment applied to dry soil, wet soil, and dry soil irrigated immediately after application when cotton was 20 to 30 cm height. Cotton treated with flumioxazin PDS at either rate applied to dry soil, wet soil, or dry soil followed immediately by irrigation was not injured. In the third experiment, flumioxazin at 71 g/ha alone or in mixture with glyphosate at 1.12 g/ha was applied at 30, 21, 14, and 0 DBP in a conventional-tillage system. Flumioxazin applied alone or in mixture with glyphosate applied at any time did not injure cotton. In all experiments, cotton lint yields were not influenced by herbicide treatment.

Field experiments were conducted in 1999 and 2000 to evaluate and adapt the Herbicide Application Decision Support System (HADSS®) program for Texas Southern High Plains cotton production. Weed management systems (in glyphosate-resistant, bromoxynil-resistant, and nontransgenic cotton varieties) included trifluralin preplant incorporated (PPI) followed by (fb) HADSS postemergence-topical (POST) recommendations (PPI fb POST HADSS), HADSS recommendations alone (POST HADSS), and Texas Agricultural Experiment Station (TAES) recommendations for the Texas Southern High Plains. In both years, effective season-long weed control was achieved with all weed management systems in the glyphosate-resistant variety, but only the PPI fb POST HADSS and TAES weed management systems controlled Palmer amaranth and devil's-claw in the bromoxynil-resistant and nontransgenic varieties, compared with POST HADSS alone. No differences in cotton lint yield or net returns over weed control costs were observed with weed management systems across variety in 1999; however, in general, the glyphosate-resistant and nontransgenic varieties produced higher yields and net returns than the bromoxynil-resistant variety. In 2000, plots from the TAES weed management system produced higher lint yields than the plots of PPI fb POST HADSS recommendations in the glyphosate- and bromoxynil-resistant varieties, but plots of all management systems yielded similarly in the nontransgenic variety. In 2000, plots from the TAES system produced the highest net returns in the glyphosate- and bromoxynil-resistant varieties. In the nontransgenic variety, the PPI fb POST HADSS and TAES weed management systems produced higher net returns over weed control costs than the POST HADSS system.

An experiment was initiated at two sites in 1998 near Crowder, MS, to evaluate the effect of in-season applications of glyphosate on redvine populations in glyphosate-resistant soybean. In the year of application, most treatments containing multiple in-season applications of glyphosate reduced redvine populations. However, at 16 mo after treatment (October 1999), 0.63 kg ai/ha paraquat preplant followed by sequential postemergence applications of glyphosate at 1.1 and 2.2 kg ai/ ha reduced redvine stems by 45% compared with the untreated check. Redvine control with this treatment also was comparable with 2.2 kg ai/ha dicamba preharvest. The same results were observed at 12 and 14 mo after application with many treatments containing sequential applications of glyphosate, but glyphosate at 1.1 and 2.2 kg ai/ha was the only in-season treatment to maintain redvine suppression during the entire growing season the year after herbicide application. However, a number of treatments delayed redvine reinfestation; thus, soybean yield was improved over the untreated check with all treatments from the previous year containing in-season applications of glyphosate, except for 0.84 kg/ha followed by 0.56 kg/ha. Increasing rates of in-season glyphosate applications to 1.1 followed by 2.2 kg/ha will adequately suppress redvine populations in glyphosate-resistant soybean, controlling annual weeds in the process.