Metribuzin [4-ammo-6-tert-butyl-3-(methylthio)-as-triazin-5(4H)-one] at 0.4 kg ai/ha controlled rape (Brassica hitra Moench. # SINAL) when applied 2.5 to 10 cm deep in a horizontal layer or in lines 1 to 4 cm apart. Trifluralin (α,α,α-trifluoro-2,6-dinitro-N,N-dipropyl-p-toluidine) at 0.8 kg ai/ha did not control ‘Rox Orange’ forage sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench. # SORVU] satisfactorily when applied in a subsurface layer, in lines, or in vertical bands 1, 2, and 3 cm apart up to 10 cm deep. Applications of trifluralin at 1.1 kg ai/ha in vertical bands followed by 0.6 kg ai/ha mixed in the surface 2.5 cm controlled forage sorghum as well as or better than surface application followed by incorporation. The combined subsurface and surface trifluralin placement systems were effective for application depths up to 7.5 cm and band spacings up to 2 cm wide. The development of effective subsurface herbicide injection systems would make the use of herbicides requiring incorporation feasible in reduced tillage crop production systems.

Field experiments were conducted to evaluate postplant crop residue, green and yellow foxtail control, and wheat grain yield after fall application of trifluralin granules in undisturbed small grain stubble. Levels of postplant residue were at least 48% cover (line transect method) and 2750 kg/ha of aboveground dry matter where herbicide granules were left unincorporated or were incorporated with conservation-till methods, including an undercutter, rotary hoe, or undercutter followed by a rotary hoe. Trifluralin at 0.56 kg/ha applied as granules in mid October in untilled stubble and incorporated with conservation-till methods controlled foxtail 81 to 88%, with control appearing slightly lower when granules were not incorporated. The 81 to 88% foxtail control in conservation-till treatments was comparable to control achieved with trifluralin at 0.56 kg/ha applied in mid October on conventionally-tilled soil and incorporated by a field cultivator. Foxtail control improved somewhat as trifluralin rate was increased to 0.84 and 1.12 kg/ha in conservation-till treatments. Slight wheat stand reductions at 1.12 kg/ha of trifluralin did not appear to reduce wheat yield. Fall application of trifluralin granules in these high-residue conditions apparently minimizes herbicide losses by photodecomposition and volatility, thereby facilitating good trifluralin efficacy the following season.

Maintaining crop residues on the soil surface has changed cropping practices in the Central Great Plains. Where previously winter wheat–fallow was the prevalent rotation, producers now grow warm-season crops in sequence with winter wheat and fallow. Controlling weeds during fallow with herbicides eliminates the need for tillage, thus conserving more crop residues. However, producers are considering subsurface tillage as an option to manage herbicide-resistant weeds. We reviewed the impact of subsurface tillage with the sweep plow on weed dynamics and crop growth compared with no-till systems. Cropping systems studies show that rotations can be designed to reduce weed community density severalfold; tillage lessens this rotational effect by burying weed seeds and prolonging their survival in soil. Crop residues on the soil surface reduce weed seedling establishment in no-till systems, but tillage eliminates this effect. Crops also yield less after tillage compared with no-till in this semiarid climate. Tillage may help in managing herbicide resistance, but it also may increase weed density as well as reduce crop yield.