S-metolachlor is an effective herbicide used to control/suppress annual grasses, nutsedges and several broadleaf weeds in sweetpotato. However, a decline in storage root quality and yield has been reported under certain environmental conditions. Information is limited on the effect of S-metolachlor application followed immediately by rainfall on sweetpotato growth and development under different temperatures, as well as the optimum application time. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to evaluate sweetpotato responses to interactive effects of S-metolachlor, temperature and rainfall, and to determine S-metolachlor optimum application time. A sunlit, controlled environment experiment was conducted to investigate sweetpotato response to S-metolachlor and rainfall immediately after application under different temperatures. Sweetpotato slips were transplanted into sandy soil filled pots. Treatment combinations included five levels of S-metolachlor, 0.00, 0.86, 1.72, 2.58 and 3.44 kg ha-1, two levels of rainfall, 0 and 38 mm and three temperatures, 25/17, 30/22 and 35/27 °C, day/night. After POST application of S-metolachlor and rainfall, all plants were transferred to sunlit growth chambers that were maintained at their respective temperatures and ambient CO2 concentration for 60 days. In another experiment, S-metolachlor application time was varied to investigate sweetpotato growth and development. Two levels of S-metolachlor 0.0 and 1.0 kg ha-1 and three application times 0, 5 and 10 days after transplanting (DAT) were used and plants were harvested five times, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 80 DAT to estimate plant growth and development. Shoot, root and total plant biomass yields declined with increasing concentration of S-metolachlor across temperatures. In addition, storage root yield and quality decline was S-metolachlor rate dependent and aggravated by rainfall immediately after herbicide treatment across temperatures. S-metolachlor was more injurious on most plant component parameters in the optimum and high temperatures where plant growth was vigorous than in the low temperatures. S-metolachlor application at 0 and 5 days affected sweetpotato growth, including storage roots, but delaying until 10 days minimized the injury. These results can be used to weigh the risk of crop injury against the weed control benefits of S-metolachlor when making management decisions, and to determine application time based on weather information.

No description available.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Weed control is one of the main agricultural practices indispensable to ensure profitability and crop success. In paddy rice field, red rice is the most important weed due to its difficult control. A widespread control method is the use of rice cultivars resistant to herbicides which are inhibitors of ALS, since it is possible to have a selective chemical control. Studies showed that the late control with imazamox promotes efficient control of red rice escapes. Thus, the objective of this research was to check the effects of imazamox application in the reproductive phase of two rice cultivars that differ in the level of resistance to imidazolinones. Two studies were carried out at the Federal University of Santa Maria in the years of 2009/10 and 2010/11. Imazamox was applied in different stadium of development and doses. At the end of the application the final dose was 80 g a.i ha-1 for all treatments. Results showed that independent of the date of the imazamox application in the reproductive phase of rice, the grain yield reduced and spikelet sterility of IRGA 422 CL increased. In general, the parameters 1000-grain weight, flag leaf length, panicule length, fresh and dry weight of panicles, and panicles per m2 showed a reduction in practically all imazamox treatments in the IRGA 422 CL cultivar. Changes in the biochemical parameters (chlorophyll, carotenoids, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, superoxide dismutase, catalase and ascorbate peroxidase) were observed in leaves and panicles from main culm in some treatments, demonstrating that the oxidative stress promoted by imazamox may have contributed to grain yield reduction and the high percentage of sterile spikelet from IRGA 422 CL cultivar. Morphologic and anatomical changes showed that imazamox application in the panicle differentiation promoted similar changes to homeotic changes observed in rice mutant. Moreover, in the other treatments different morphologic and anatomical changes were observed. Therefore, morphologic and anatomical changes were likely to be responsible for grain yield reduction and high percentage of spikelet sterile from IRGA 422 CL. / O controle de plantas daninhas é uma das práticas agrícolas indispensáveis para garantir rentabilidade e sucesso no cultivo. No cultivo de arroz irrigado, o arroz vermelho é a planta daninha de maior importância, devido sua dificuldade de controle. Um método de controle bastante difundido é o uso de cultivares resistentes aos herbicidas inibidores da ALS, pois permite um controle químico seletivo. Estudos demonstram que o controle tardio com o herbicida imazamox promove controle eficiente de escapes de arroz vermelho. Por isso, o objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar os efeitos da aplicação do imazamox na fase reprodutiva de duas cultivares de arroz irrigado (IRGA 422 CL e PUITÁ INTA CL) que diferem quanto ao nível de resistência as imidazolinonas. Em vista do exposto, foram conduzidos dois estudos na área experimental da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (2009/10 e 2010/11). O imazamox foi aplicado em diferentes estádios de desenvolvimento e doses, sendo que a dose final foi de 80 g i.a ha-1. Com os resultados obtidos conclui-se que independente da data de aplicação do imazamox na fase reprodutiva da cultura ocorreu redução da produtividade de grãos e aumentou a esterilidade de espiguetas da cultivar IRGA 422 CL. De maneira geral, os parâmetros: peso de mil grãos, comprimento da folha bandeira, comprimento de panícula, peso fresco e seco de panículas, e número de panículas por metro quadrado mostraram redução em praticamente todos os tratamentos na cultivar IRGA 422 CL. Alterações nos parâmetros bioquímicos (clorofila, carotenoides, substâncias reativas ao ácido tiobarbitúrico, superóxido dismutase, catalase e ascorbato peroxidase) foram observadas em folhas e panículas do colmo principal em alguns tratamentos, demonstrando que o estresse oxidativo provocado pela aplicação do imazamox pode ter contribuído para a redução da produtividade de grãos e o elevado percentual de espiguetas estéreis da cultivar IRGA 422 CL. A cultivar PUITÁ INTA CL não sofreu alterações em todos os parâmetros avaliados neste estudo. As alterações morfológicas e anatômicas demonstraram que a aplicação de 80 g i.a ha-1 imazamox na diferenciação da panícula promoveu alterações semelhantes às alterações homeóticas observadas em arroz mutante. Além disso, nas plantas que receberam a dose de 80 g i.a ha-1 após 14 dias da diferenciação do primórdio floral (DPF) e as plantas que receberam a dose de 80 g i.a ha-1 em aplicação fracionada (metade da dose 7 dias após DPF e metade da dose aos 14 dias após DPF) mostraram alterações morfológicas e anatômicas do grão de pólen. Dado o exposto, os resultados obtidos sugerem que as alterações morfológicas e anatômicas foram responsáveis pela redução da produtividade de grãos e alto percentual de espiguetas estéreis da cultivar IRGA 422 CL.

<p dir="ltr">Sweetpotato (<i>Ipomoea batatas</i> L.) is a staple crop that provides nutritional benefits to humans globally, but it is subjected to yield loss when competing with weeds, especially during the early stage of establishment. Despite increased organic sweetpotato production in the United States, growers face challenges with limited weed management options and often resort to time-consuming and costly cultivation and hand-weeding. To address this challenge, experiments were developed to determine (1) the effect of sweetpotato cultivar on the critical weed-free period, (2) the effects of in-row plant spacing and cultivar selection on weed suppression and sweetpotato yield, and (3) the impact of buckwheat and silage tarps for row-middle weed control. 1) In 2022, field research was conducted at the Samuel G. Meigs Horticulture Research Farm (Meigs), Lafayette, IN, and at the Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center (SWPAC), Vincennes, IN to estimate the critical weed-free period for ‘Covington’, ‘Murasaki’, and ‘Monaco’ in the Midwest. The experiment was a split-plot design, with weed-free interval treatments as the main plot factor and cultivar as the subplot factor. Weeds were removed by hand and allowed to establish and compete with the crop beginning at 0, 14, 21, 28, 35, or 42 days after transplanting (DAP). As weed-free interval increased from 0 to 42 DAP, predicted total yield increased from 19 kg ha^-1 to 20,540 kg ha^-1for Covington, 3 kg ha^-1 to 11,407 kg ha^-1 for Monaco, and 125 kg ha^-1to 13,460 kg ha^-1for Murasaki at the Lafayette location. A threshold of ≤10% total yield reduction was achieved by maintaining sweetpotatoes weed-free 24 DAP for Covington, 20 DAP for Murasaki, and 33 DAP for Monaco. 2) In 2022 and 2023, studies were conducted at Meigs, Lafayette, IN and SWPAC, Vincennes, IN to evaluate in-row plant spacing and cultivars for weed control and sweetpotato yield. The experiment was a split-split plot design, with in-row spacings of 20, 30, and 40 cm as the main plot factor, weeding frequency (‘critical weed-free period’ and ‘weed free’) as the subplot factor, and sweetpotato cultivar (‘Covington’ and ‘Monaco’) as the sub-subplot factor. However, in 2022, we evaluated only in-row spacing and weeding frequency because of poor establishment of Monaco. In-row spacing had no significant effect on weed densities at 4, 5, and 6 WAP. As in-row spacing increased from 20 to 40 cm, total sweetpotato yield pooled across both locations in 2023 decreased from 30,223 to 21,209 kg ha^-1 for Covington and 24,370 to 20,848 kg ha^-1 for Monaco, however, jumbo yield increased for both cultivars. Findings from this study suggest that an in-row spacing of 20 cm may provide greater yield than the standard spacing, 30 cm, for both Monaco and Covington cultivars and could reduce weed interference through more rapid sweetpotato canopy closure. 3) The experiment was a randomized complete block design, with three row-middle treatments [tarp, buckwheat, and cultivation] and four replicates. Row-middle treatments were established immediately after transplanting ‘Covington’ slips 30 cm apart into raised bed plots consisting of a single row 6 m long and 2 m apart on-center. Buckwheat was planted three weeks after transplanting (WAP) at a rate of 108 kg ha^-1 in row-middle. Row-middles for the tarp treatment were covered for the entire growing season. Weed density at 6 WAP was 184 plants m^-2 for the buckwheat, and 162 plants m^-2 for the cultivation treatments. Total yield was 11,050 kg ha^-1 for the buckwheat, 19,790 kg ha^-1 for the cultivation, and 17,810 kg ha^-1 for the tarping treatments. Tarping effectively suppressed weeds and produced sweetpotato yields comparable to cultivation indicating potential for organic growers. Buckwheat yields were lower than those from tarping and cultivation.</p>