The aim of this project was to provide sound scientific underpinning for the development of new weed management strategies in sugar cane by exploring competition from the major weeds, and explaining the different mechanisms of weed interference from Paspalum paniculatum and P. urvillei. Critical periods of weed control (CPWC) were studied in six field trials. In ratoon cane, CPWC with natural weed infestations started between 228 and 916 growing degree days (GDD), and ended between 648 and 1311 GDD, depending on the site and cane variety. These results represented a maximum CPWC of 12 to 28 weeks after harvest (WAH). In plant cane, the CPWC started earlier (6 WAP) and was longer than those in ratoon cane. Relative competitiveness ‘q’ values of eight common weed species showed that sugar cane was a stronger competitor than most of the weeds tested. The adverse effect of weed competition in sugar cane is not experienced before several weeks following weed emergence. Weeds transplanted 10 WAP caused no significant change in cane yield response as compared to those transplanted 4 WAP. Paspalum paniculatum was often found to be more competitive than P. urvillei, although the latter produced more leaf area and grew taller to intercept more light within the canopy. This indicated that other mechanisms of weed interference were involved and competition for light was more important during the earlier (tillering) growth stages. Root competition was shown to be as important as shoot competition. Root competition effects were observed several weeks after imposing competition, suggesting that it was more important than competition for light in the post-tillering phase. Application of root exudates from the two grasses to sugar cane confirmed an allelopathic effect on the root biomass of sugar cane. One chemical identified in the leachates from both Paspalum species for the allelopathic effects was 2-propenoic acid, 3-(4-methoxyphenyl). The main implications of the above findings for the Mauritian sugar industry would involve a change in the timing of application of herbicides. A new tank-mix consisting of trifloxysulfuron + ametryn and amicarbazone has been found to meet this objective. This strategy will enable a saving of at least one herbicide treatment per season. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Plant Production and Soil Science / unrestricted

Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) was introduced in 2005 as a fibre crop on a commercial scale in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. No herbicides have yet been registered for use in this crop. The purpose of this study was to determine the tolerance of kenaf to a total of five pre-emergence and four post-emergence herbicides under semi- and fully controlled conditions. The herbicides were chosen based on their potential safety for use in Hibiscus spp. as well as on the weed spectra they are registered for in other crops. Several additional factors were also taken into consideration, such as: temperature, soil depth and timing of herbicide application. Four pot trials were conducted to determine the separate and combined effects of herbicide, temperature, planting depth and application timing. During the first trial the effects of five pre-emergence herbicides and four post-emergence herbicides were researched. The pre-emergence herbicides were: S-dimethenamid, imazethapyr, fluometuron/prometryn, pendimethalin, S- metolachlor and the post-emergence herbicides were: bentazone, 2,4-DB, monosodium methanearsonate and pyrithiobac sodium. The trials were conducted under either semi-controlled conditions in a glasshouse or in growth cabinets under fully controlled conditions at the Hatfield Experimental Farm of the University of Pretoria. All experiments were conducted with a Hutton soil with 22% clay. Each trial lasted about 40 days to allow for maximum phytotoxicity damage manifestation on the kenaf seedlings. Measurements that were taken included plant height, herbicide damage, weed control efficiency, fresh plant weight, dried plant weight, and dried root weight. The data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) to determine the statistical likelihood of damage to plants from the herbicides. In Trial 2, 3 and 4 the interaction effects of herbicide and plant depth, herbicide and temperature, and herbicide and application timing were researched respectively. Neither planting depth nor application timing affected the kenaf seedlings negatively, but low temperature in combination with the application of herbicides during germination of seed and seedling emergence had serious deleterious effects on the young kenaf seedlings. Based on the findings the majority of the herbicides can be included in further field trials on Hibiscus cannabinus L. with the exception of S-dimethenamid and fluometuron/prometryn which caused substantial injury to the kenaf seedlings. Copyright / Dissertation (MInstAgrar)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Plant Production and Soil Science / unrestricted

MSc. (Geography) / Growing concerns with regards to the environmental and economic impacts related to the application of herbicides to control the spread and abundance of weeds in agricultural crops have created a need for the development of novel agricultural management systems that are less dependent on herbicide usage and tillage. Such concerns have given rise to the need for the variable spatial treatment of croplands aimed at the minimization of requirements for the application of herbicides and the subsequent minimization of excess materials released into the surrounding environment. Remote sensing provides an opportunity for the fast and cost-effective delineation of weed patches in croplands over large areas where traditional scouting techniques would be impractical. The differences in spectral reflectance from different plants at certain wavelengths due to species specific variations in biochemical and physical characteristics is what lays the basis for the distinction of vegetation species within remotely sensed images and ultimately the potential detection of weed-species in croplands. This study investigates the potential spectral characterisation of maize and commonly occurring weed-species by (1) making use of reflectance spectra collected at leaf-level to identify statistically significant differences in reflectance between individual species throughout the visible (VIS), Near-Infrared (NIR) and Shortwave-Infrared (SWIR) regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, determining the potential of the Red-Edge Position (REP) and slope for this particular application and testing the accuracy at which reflectance spectra may be classified according to vegetation species based on spectral reflectance at specific wavebands and REP as input predictor variables, (2) testing the potential effect of mixed spectral responses and soil-background interference through the analysis of reflectance spectra collected at canopy-level, and (3) determining the potential effect of the spectral generalisation associated with multispectral reflectance through the analysis of spectral responses resampled to the spectral band designations of representative high spatial resolution multispectral sensors. The results showed that maize may be spectrally distinguished from all of the weed-species included in the analysis based on leaf-level hyperspectral reflectance throughout the Visible-to-Near-Infrared (V-NIR) and SWIR-regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, however, the unique characterisation of weed-species is not possible for all species and where it is possible, it is highly wavelength-specific and would require high spectral resolution hyperspectral data. The wavelengths most suitable for the spectral characterisation of maize-crops and weed species in the study area were identified as: 432.1nm, 528.2nm, 700.7nm, 719.4nm, 1335.1nm, 1508.1nm, 2075.8nm, 2164.5nm and 2342.2nm. The output predictor model was able to classify reflectance spectra associated with maize crops and weeds in the study area at an overall accuracy of 89.7 per cent and it was shown that the inclusion of the REP as predictor variable did not improve the overall accuracy of the classification, however, may be used to improve the classification accuracies of certain species...

Orientador: Paulo Renato Matos Lopes / Resumo: O herbicida tebuthiuron é largamente utilizado na cultura da cana-de-açúcar e pode acarretar prejuízos ao ambiente devido seu elevado potencial tóxico e alta persistência no solo. Assim, esse trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o potencial de espécies vegetais em diminuir a concentração de tebuthiuron no solo com aplicação de vinhaça. A eficiência do processo de biorremediação foi avaliada quanto: ao desenvolvimento vegetal, aos parâmetros físico-químicos do solo e à ecotoxicidade do meio. Os experimentos foram conduzidos em casa de vegetação utilizando vasos com solo sem histórico de aplicação do herbicida. As espécies potencialmente fitorremediadoras testadas foram: feijão-de-porco (Canavalia ensiformis), feijão-guandu (Cajanus cajan), milheto (Pennisetum glaucum), e mucuna-cinza (Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC.). Como espécie sentinela foi utilizada a Crotalaria juncea. Ao longo do experimento foram avaliados: o diâmetro do colo, a altura da planta e o número de folhas. Ao final, avaliações de massas fresca e seca foram realizadas para as cinco plantas testadas. A fitotoxicidade das amostras nos tratamentos foi determinada nos tempos inicial (zero) e final (50 dias), utilizando sementes de alface como organismos-teste. Os resultados revelaram que o feijão-de-porco e o feijão-guandu não resistiram a presença do herbicida. O milheto apresentou o menor índice de mortalidade e também o melhor desempenho em solos na presença do tebuhiuron associado ou não à vinhaça. Baseado em seu des... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The herbicide tebuthiuron is widely used in sugarcane cultivation and can cause damage to the environment due to its high toxic potential and high soil persistence. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate the potential of plant species in decreasing tebuthiuron concentration in the soil with vinasse application. The efficiency of the bioremediation process was evaluated for: plant development, soil physicochemical parameters and environment ecotoxicity. To evaluate these parameters, the experiments were conducted in a greenhouse using pots with soil with no history of herbicide application. Potential phytoremediation species tested were: jack bean (Canavalia ensiformis), pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan), millet (Pennisetum glaucum), and velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC.). As bioindicator species was used Crotalaria juncea. Throughout the experiment were evaluated: the neck diameter, the plant height and the number of leaves. At the end, fresh and dry mass evaluations were performed for the five plants tested. The phytotoxicity of the samples in the treatments was determined at the initial (zero) and final (50 days) times, using lettuce seeds as test organisms. Results revealed that pigeon bean and jack bean did not resist the herbicide presence. Millet plants showed the lowest mortality rate among all plant species and also presented the best performance in tebuthiuron presence associated or not with vinasse. However, despite of these results for millet, velvet bean was the most suit... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

<p><a>In the United States and Canada, weed interference in corn (<i>Zea mays </i>L.) costs farmers nearly $4 billion per year. Weed control has been achieved primarily through herbicides and tillage. As no-till corn acres have increased, dependence on herbicides has also increased. Herbicide-resistant weed infestations have pressured many growers into other weed management practices, such as adding winter cover crops into crop rotations. Field experiments were conducted in 2017 through 2018 and 2018 through 2019 at three locations in Indiana to determine residual herbicide efficacy applied at cereal rye termination and after corn planting in cereal rye (<i>Secale cereale</i> L.) and winter-fallow no-till corn. Weed biomass and density suppression was dependent on weed species and was influenced by cereal rye biomass at termination. Weed biomass was suppressed by up to 84% by cereal rye alone. Weed biomass reduction by a residual herbicide premix was similar in both cereal rye and non-cover crop treatments in most site-years, however cereal rye and the residual herbicide premix together resulted in decreased giant ragweed (<i>Ambrosia trifida </i>L.) and summer annual grass biomass compared to the residual herbicide premix applied alone in one site year. Late-season grass weed density was reduced by residual herbicides, but was unaffected by cover crop treatment. Late-season common cocklebur density and biomass increased in cereal rye treatments compared to non-cover crop treatments. </a></p> <p>Other field experiments were conducted at the same locations in 2017 through 2018 and 2018 through 2019 to determine the effect of cover crop species, termination timing, and chemical cover crop termination strategies on weed control and corn yield. Crimson cover (<i>Trifolium incarnatum </i>L.), cereal rye, and a cereal rye/crimson clover mix were terminated two weeks before, at, and two weeks after corn planting. All plots were terminated using glyphosate and atrazine, however others were also terminated with dicamba and acetochlor. The addition of acetochlor generally reduced early-season weed biomass or density, but not in cereal rye and cover crop mix treatments that were terminated at or after corn planting. Late-season summer annual grass biomass was reduced when cover crop biomass at termination was over 8000 kg ha^-1. Late-season common cocklebur density in 2018 was 450% to 800% higher in cover crops containing cereal rye, compared to crimson clover treatments. Corn yield was reduced by 23% to 67% in cereal rye and cover crop mix treatments in two out of three site-years in 2018, however corn yield was not reduced by crimson clover in either year, nor by cereal rye or the cover crop mix in 2019.</p>

Small burnet (Sanguisorba minor scop.) Is a hardy, relatively long lived evergreen forb native to Eurasia that has potential to improve grazinglands and extend grazing into late fall and winter. Trials evaluating small burnet tolerance to spring and fall postemergence herbicide applications were conducted at the Utah State University Evans farm in Millville, UT. Two small burnet genotypes were grown in a randomized complete block design with a split-plot arrangement. Twelve treatments, clethodim, clopyralid, imazamox, 2,4DB, metribuzin, aminopyralid, pendimethalin, dimethenamid-P, bromoxynil, dicamba, quinclorac, and an untreated were applied at moderate field use rates either spring or fall of the establishment year. Plots were rated for visual injury on a 0 to 100 scale where 0 = no injury and 100 = complete mortality. Ratings were done 7, 14, 60 days after treatment (DAT) and the spring following treatment. Seed yield, seed viability, and dry matter yield (DMY) were determined. Fall treatments of aminopyralid reduced seed yield 65%, seed germination 43%, and DMY 67%. Fall applied imazamox treatments reduced DMY by 36%, and seed yield by 33%, but did not impact germination. Visual injury was greatest from spring and fall applied aminopyralid treatments with ratings of 24% and 79%. Spring applied treatments did not impact seed yield or seed germination. Results suggest that clethodim, metribuzin, quinclorac, clopyralid, dimethenamid-P, bromoxynil, and pendimethalin cause little or no injury to small burnet.

Weed management options in agronomic crop production have been severely limited by widespread populations of weeds resistant to herbicides, including waterhemp [Amaranthus tuberculatus (Moq.) Sauer (syn. rudis)] resistant to foliar applications of herbicides that inhibit protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO; EC 1.3.3.4) activity (PPO-R). Herbicides within this site of action (WSSA site of action #14) remain efficacious when soil-applied to PPO-R waterhemp populations. Therefore, the continued use of these herbicides for soil-residual control of PPO-R waterhemp, especially in soybean production, is paramount with limited postemergence herbicides that remain effective. An improved understanding of the selection for PPO-R waterhemp would provide information to help minimize future loss of residual PPO-inhibiting herbicide activity. Five studies, consisting of 14 experiments, were conducted to improve our understanding of the selection for herbicide-resistant individuals. Soil-residual herbicides have been suspected to select for herbicide-resistant individuals; however, this phenomenon has never been observed experimentally in field conditions. This dissertation provides direct evidence from greenhouse and field experiments that significant selection pressure can occur from soil-residual herbicides; however, this selection for resistance could be delayed when using full commercial herbicide rates and effective herbicides from multiple sites of action. Also, the frequency of heterozygous individuals (RS) and PPO-inhibiting herbicide efficacy on RS individuals is a factor in the selection for herbicide resistance; however, current information on the these topics is limited. To provide additional information on RS individuals, a large-scale genotypic and phenotypic screen of multiple PPO-R waterhemp populations was conducted. It was determined that RS individuals were less frequent than expected and PPO-inhibiting herbicide efficacy on RS individuals was population-dependent. Finally, the hormetic effects of soil-residual herbicides have been paradoxically implicated as a means of both mitigating and exacerbating the selection for herbicide resistant biotypes; however, limited information was available on the hormetic effects of soil-residual PPO inhibitors. Greenhouse and growth chamber experiments were conducted to improve understanding of hormesis and soil-residual PPO-inhibiting herbicides. Experiments indicated that PPO-inhibiting herbicides may exert a limited hormetic effect on waterhemp germination below doses that cause a phytotoxic effect of the emerging seedling, indicating this effect may exacerbate the issue of selection for PPO-R waterhemp. Overall, data presented in this dissertation provides important information on the under-studied interaction between PPO-inhibiting herbicides and PPO-R waterhemp to safeguard the sustained efficacy of herbicides within this site of action.

Glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri [S.] Wats) is an economically troublesome weed to southeastern United States soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) growers. Palmer amaranth is troublesome due to its evolution of resistance to multiple herbicide modes of action, competiveness, and prolific seed production. Greenhouse studies were conducted at the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, MS to evaluate different rates of 2,4- dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) for control of Palmer amaranth. Field experiments were conducted at the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, MS in 2013 and 2014 to evaluate Palmer amaranth emergence using a cultural practice and a residual herbicide. Field experiments were also conducted at the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, MS in 2013 and 2014 to evaluate Palmer amaranth control with applications of glyphosate, glufosinate, and 2,4-D alone and in mixtures.

Cogongrass management generally requires multiple herbicide applications, however, success is limited if not integrated with other methods. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the use of cover cropping systems with herbicides on cogongrass control. Field studies determined that sequential glyphosate applications in the summer were necessary to achieve 80% or greater control, but a single application could be effective if weather conditions allowed early planting and good cover crop establishment of Roundup Ready soybeans. Studies also indicated that the use of ALS-resistant Italian ryegrass and white clover crop combinations showed no effect, but imazapyr applications made in May or June provided 80% or higher control by October. Greenhouse experiments showed that delayed planting at least 1 month after imazapyr preemergence applications from 70 to 280 g ae ha-1, significantly reduced emergence failure, height and biomass reductions of legumes used for revegetation.

No description available.