Control of littleseed canarygrass (Phalaris minor Retz.), wild oat (Avena fatua L.), common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album L.), and field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis L.) in dwarf wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) fields was studied with five herbicides and hand weeding. Terbutryn [2-(tert-butylamino)-4-(ethylamino)-6-(methylthio)-s-triazine] and 1-benzthiazol-2-yl-1,3-dimethylurea controlled the weeds more effectively than did two hand weedings. Diuron [3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea], nitrofen (2,4-dichlorophenyl p-nitrophenyl ether), and dichlormate (3,4-dichlorobenzyl methylcarbamate), proved only partially effective against weeds, and were therefore significantly inferior to two hand weedings. Spikes per meter of row length and test weight of wheat were increased significantly by 1-benzthiazol-2-yl-1,3-dimethylurea (1.5 to 2 kg/ha), terbutryn (0.5 kg/ha), and two hand weedings over the yields of the weedy check. The 1-benzthiazol-2-yl-1,3-dimethylurea showed a high degree of selectivity in the wheat crop at 2 kg/ha and increased yields to those of weed-free plots. Terbutryn was almost as effective as 1-benzthiazol-2-yl-1,3-dimethylurea, which increased the wheat yields over those of the weedy check by 19.8 and 42.4% during the 1974/75 and 1975/76 seasons, respectively. Tolerance of dwarf wheat to terbutryn at 0.75 kg/ha was variable, resulting in significant decreases in yield components and grain yield. Dry-matter yield of wheat was negatively correlated with the dry matter production of weeds.

Two experiments were conducted to determine the most effective herbicide treatments for fringed sagebrush (Artemisia frigida Willd.) control in rangelands. In the first study the potassium salt of picloram (4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid) at 0.1, 0.6, and 0.8 kg/ha; picloram + the propylene glycol butyl ether ester of 2,4-D [(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid] at 0.1 + 1.1 kg/ha; the monoethanolamine salt of 3,6-dichloropicolinic acid at 1.1 kg/ha; 3,6-dichloropicolinic acid + 2,4-D at 0.6 + 1.1 kg/ha; and the dimethylamine salt of dicamba (3,6-dichloro-o-anisic acid) + 2,4-D at 0.6 + 1.1 kg/ha applied in late summer at flowering, showed the greatest potential for fringed sagebrush control. In the second experiment, the potassium salt of picloram at 0.3 kg/ha applied either in the spring or late summer gave 94 to 100% fringed sagebrush control, respectively, 1 yr after application. Control of fringed sagebrush had declined to 50% 3 yr after application. Production of perennial grasses from plots receiving picloram at 0.3 kg/ha in 1976 was increased by 410 kg/ha in 1977, 450 kg/ha in 1978, and 430 kg/ha in 1979 over that of the untreated plots.

Most seed of broom snakeweed [Gutierrezia sarothrae (Pursh) Britt. & Rusby] and threadleaf snakeweed [G. microcephala (DC.) Gray] were dormant when collected soon after maturity, requiring 4 to 6 months of storage at room conditions to break dormancy. An alternating temperature regime of 10 C (16 h) and 20 C (8 h) favored snakeweed germination during the afterripening period, but germination was greatest under alternating temperatures of 20 C (16 h) and 30 C (8 h) after 24 months of storage. After 6 months of storage, maximum germination (70% or more) of threadleaf snakeweed seed occurred at continuous temperatures of 15 to 25 C; whereas, broom snakeweed seed germinated best at 15 and 30 C. Germination of both species in darkness was half or less of germination with daily 8-h periods of light. Germination of seed lots containing a high proportion of dormant achenes was enhanced by preimbibition storage at 50 C; after dormancy was naturally broken, exposure to 50 C prior to germination decreased early seedling vigor and growth but not germination.

Aerial applications of 20% tebuthiuron JA/-[5-(1,1- dimethylethyl) - 1, 3, 4 - thiadiazol-2 -yl] -N, N' dimethylurea pellets at 2.2 or 4.4 kg/ha in the spring to heavy brush cover in Texas Post Oak Savannah did not increase the amount of grass, compared to that of untreated pastures, until the growing season after application. By the second growing season after tebuthiuron application, however, native grass stands were composed of a higher proportion of perennial species of good-to-excellent grazing value than were stands on adjacent, untreated rangeland. Tebuthiuron at 4.4 kg/ha did not improve botanical composition of grass stands, but increased the amount of grass during the second and third growing season after application compared to those where 2.2 kg/ha were applied. Daily steer gains were increased in one experiment in the fall after application of 2.2 kg/ha of tebuthiuron in the spring, but were unchanged after two growing seasons in another. Days of available grazing were increased, however, by the second or third growing season after treatment with 2.2 kg/ha of the herbicide in both experiments.

The life cycle of Notaris bimaculatus Fab. and the influence of this weevil on the control of quackgrass [Agropyron repens (L.) Beauv.] with glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine] were studied. Observations on this insect in 1978 and 1979 showed that its life cycle occurs in close association with quackgrass. The adult weevils feed on quackgrass culms and caryopses and use the inside of the culms for ovipositing. Adult populations, measured in quackgrass infestations during the summer months, ranged from 3 to 44/25 sweeps of an insect net. Larvae emerge from the eggs after 2 weeks, feed down the inside of the culms, chew an exit hole, and move into the soil where they attack the rhizomes. Larval numbers ranged from two to six/28 dm3 of soil during the summer months. Larvae feed on the rhizome surface or enter the rhizomes where they devour the vascular and cortical tissue. In dense quackgrass sods treated with glyphosate at 1.7 kg/ha, feeding damage on quackgrass rhizomes caused by the larvae reduced the control of quackgrass by disrupting the translocation of glyphosate in the rhizomes. Although soil-borne larvae of several insects were found in quackgrassinfested soil, larvae of N. bimaculatus were always present. Controlling these soil-borne insect larvae with a soil-applied insecticide for 2 months before applying glyphosate resulted in significantly increased quackgrass control. Shoot regrowth several months after the application of glyphosate at 1.4 kg/ha to quackgrass grown in cages infested with 400 adult weevils was 298 and 611 shoots/m2 in the 1979 and 1980 experiments, respectively. Similar glyphosate applications to weevil-free quackgrass resulted in only 26 and 15 shoots/m2 in the 1979 and 1980 experiments.

The combination of salts at the approximate ratio found in saline irrigation water, (NaCl 41.9 mM, CaCl2 20.9 mM, and MgCl2.6H2O 10.5 mM), with either 1 mM EPTC (S-ethyl dipropylthiocarbamate) or 0.1 mM CDEC (2-chloroallyl diethyldithiocarbamate) induced a greater reduction of root length, shoot length, and fresh weight of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. ‘VF-315’) relative to either factor alone. The osmotic pressure of this salt solution is 0.40 MPa (mega Pascal), which is equivalent to 4.0 bar or ca. 4.0 atm. Similar results were found in lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. ‘Great Lakes–659’) using salts at 0.30 MPa (NaCl 31.4 mM, CaCl2 15.7 mM, and MgCl2.6H2O 7.3 mM) combined with either 0.75 mM EPTC or 0.2 mM CDEC. In tomato, the inhibition was additive for each parameter measured. In lettuce, however, the effect on fresh weight and shoot length was synergistic and the effect on root length was additive. Calcium chloride was the single salt component of the mixture, which when combined with either EPTC or CDEC, induced a significant reduction of root length, shoot length, and fresh weight in tomato relative to either factor alone. No additional reduction in growth was found in lettuce when each individual salt was combined with either EPTC or CDEC.

Dalapon (2,2-dichloropropionic acid), tebuthiuron {N-[5-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl]-N,N′-dimethylurea}, and hexazinone [3-cyclohexyl-6-(dimethylamino)-1-methyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione] were evaluated for smutgrass [Sporobolus poiretii (R.&S.) Hitchc] control in bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flugge.) pastures. Dalapon and hexazinone provided the best smutgrass control but injured the bahiagrass. Forage treated with hexazinone at 1.7 kg/ha or less recovered within 6 months; however, the effects of the initial injury from dalapon at 2.2 kg/ha could be detected for as long as 2 yr after treatment. Dogfennel [Eupatorium capillifolium (Lam.) Small] and broomsedge (Andropogon virginicus L.) replaced smutgrass and bahiagrass removed by dalapon. Higher rates of tebuthiuron than hexazinone (3.4 vs. 1.1 kg/ha) were required to control smutgrass adequately.

The absorption, translocation, and exudation of 14C-glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine], 14C-fosamine [ethyl hydrogen (aminocarbonyl)phosphonate] and 14C-amitrole (3-amino-s-triazole) in field horsetail (Equisetum arvense L.) were examined in glasshouse experiments. Amitrole was absorbed much more readily than either fosamine or glyphosate, and although the initial translocation of amitrole was faster, eventually more 14C was recovered from the underground parts of plants treated with 14C-glyphosate and fosamine. Radioactivity from all three compounds was translocated to areas of meristematic activity such as shoot and rhizome apices and rhizome nodes. The amounts of radioactivity recovered from the roots and rhizomes were small in relation to the amounts applied. Root exudation and guttation could account for some loss of herbicide from the plant. Radioactivity from 14C-amitrole, in particular, was present in relatively large amounts in guttation fluid.

Field and laboratory experiments were conducted in 1977 and 1978 to evaluate the movement and persistence in soil of metriflufen {methyl ester of 2-[4-(4-trifluoromethylphenoxy)phenoxy] propanoic acid} under different conditions. In the field, delaying incorporation of metriflufen did not affect its activity in Taloka silt loam for either year as shown by bioassay with grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]. Metriflufen activity in the soil persisted for 63 and 40 days after application in 1977 and 1978, respectively. In the laboratory, metriflufen moved through saturated soil columns to an average depth of 7.5 and 18.5 cm following the addition of 2.5 or 10 cm of water to the columns. In a growth chamber bioassay, grain sorghum growth in treated soil gave a dose-response in a range of 0.02 ppmw (I10), 0.09 ppmw (I50), and 0.38 ppmw (I90). When soil treated with metriflufen at 1 ppmw was incubated for specified times under soil moisture levels of 5, 15, or 25% and temperature regimes of 15, 25, or 35 C, soil incubated at 15 C for as long as 75 days completely inhibited grain sorghum growth regardless of the other treatment variables. Grain sorghum growth inhibition was reduced with incubation time and warmer temperatures for treated soil maintained at 5 and 15% moisture, but sorghum growth inhibition persisted for treated soil incubated under wet (25% moisture) conditions.

Experiments were conducted in the field, greenhouse, and controlled environment chambers to determine the extent to which MCPA {[(4-chloro-o-tolyl)oxy] acetic acid} antagonizes wild oat (Avena fatua L.) control with diclofop {2-[4-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)phenoxy] propanoic acid}. Wild oat control with diclofop at 1 kg/ha was reduced from 96% when used alone to 76, 48, 31, and 14% by tank mixture with IAA (3-indole acetic acid), MCPA, 2,4-D [(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid], or dicamba (3,6-dichloro-o-anisic acid), respectively. Wild oat control with diclofop applied alone at 1.1 kg/ha was similar to that of diclofop at 2.2 kg/ha applied as a tank mixture with MCPA at 0.15 or 0.3 kg/ha. MCPA antagonism of wild oat control with diclofop increased as the post-treatment temperature increased from 10 to 30 C. MCPA antagonism of wild oat control with diclofop was the same whether the herbicides were applied to the foliage only or to the foliage and soil. Approximately 20% of the wild oat root inhibition with diclofop applied postemergence, however, was from diclofop uptake from the soil. MCPA at 0.6 kg/ha did not reduce wild oat control when applied as a sequential treatment 2 days before or 1 day after diclofop at 1.1 kg/ha.

The effect of glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine] on barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and corn (Zea mays L.) shoot δ-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) production was examined by monitoring ALA content in the tissue and measuring incorporation of 14C precursors into ALA and chlorophyll a. Barley shoot ALA content was significantly decreased by 1 mM glyphosate after 9, 11, and 15 h of illumination. ALA production by treated barley shoots was 30 nmoles•g fresh weight-1•h-1 at each interval tested, compared with 75 to 120 nmoles•g fresh weight-1•h-1 for the control. In corn shoots, ALA content was reduced 32, 45, and 58% by 0.1, 1.0, and 10.0 mM glyphosate, respectively, after 12 h illumination. Incorporation studies with 14C-glutamate, 14C-α-ketoglutarate, and 14C-glycine into ALA showed a 77, 92, and 91% inhibition, respectively, in barley shoots treated with 1 mM glyphosate. Incorporation of 14C-ALA into chlorophyll a was not affected by 1 mM glyphosate. Thus, the site of action of glyphosate may involve two enzyme pathways:one controlling the conversion of α-ketoglutarate to ALA, and the other controlling the condensation of glycine with succinyl CoA to form ALA and carbon dioxide. Inhibition of ALA synthesis blocks synthesis of chlorophyll, as well as all other porphyrin ring compounds found in higher plants. Thus, inhibition of ALA synthesis may be an integral component of the herbicidal mode of action of glyphosate.

An experiment was initiated in 1970 and continued through 1979 by exhuming and germinating seed of 12 economic weed species buried beneath 23 cm of soil in eastern and western Nebraska. Loss in germination of exhumed seeds over years is mathematically characterized by the formula for the rectangular hyperbola, which represents many shapes of curves that have zero as their lower limit. Of the 12 weed species, only fall panicum (Panicum dichotomiflorum Michx.) and redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.) seed germination did not drop significantly over the 10-yr burial period. Germination of redroot pigweed seed was higher when buried in eastern Nebraska, but was higher for smooth groundcherry (Physalis subglabrata Mack&Bush.) and velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti Medic.) when buried in western Nebraska. Germination of the other nine species were not affected by burial location. The 12 weed species can be ranked as those showing most to least rapid loss of germination during burial for 10 yr as follows: honeyvine milkweed [Ampelamus albidus (Nutt.) Britt.], hemp dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum L.), kochia [Kochia scoparia (L.) Schrad.], sunflower (Helianthus annum L.), large crabgrass [Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop.], common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.), musk thistle (Carduus nutans L.), velvetleaf, fall panicum, redroot pigweed, green foxtail [Setaria viridis (L.) Beauv.], and smooth groundcherry.

The effectiveness of dicamba (3,6-dichloro-o-anisic acid), picloram (4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid), and triclopyr [(3,5-6-trichloro-2-pyridinyl)oxy]acetic acid and mixtures of these herbicides with 2,4-D [(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid] for the control of horsenettle (Solanum carolinense L.) in Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) pastures was evaluated at three different field sites in Southwest Virginia over a period of 3 yr. Picloram applied at 0.6 and 1.1 kg/ha significantly reduced horsenettle roots, as indicated by a 98% reduction in shoots 1 yr after the first annual application. No shoots emerged within 18 months after three annual picloram applications. There was no significant difference between picloram applied alone and in a mixture with 1.1 kg/ha of 2,4-D. Three annual applications of triclopyr at 3.4 kg/ha reduced horsenettle shoots from 82% to 92%. The 3.4-kg/ha rate of triclopyr was slightly more effective in controlling horsenettle roots than was triclopyr at 1.7 kg/ha alone and in mixture with 1.1 kg/ha of 2,4-D. Dicamba at 0.6 and 1.1 kg/ha reduced the horsenettle shoots by 74% and 81%, respectively. The reduction was similar from mixtures of dicamba (0.1 and 0.3 kg/ha) with 2,4-D (0.4 and 0.8 kg/ha). There were no effects on the bluegrass forage that could be attributed to the herbicides.

Tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum ‘Roma VF’) and weeds were seeded at two locations in 1973 and 1974. In separate plots, jimsonweed (Datura stramonium L.), tall morningglory [Ipomoea purpurea (L.) Roth.], and common cocklebur (Xanthium pensylvanicum Wallr.) seedlings were thinned to densities ranging from 2.7 to 86 plants/m2. Densities of large crabgrass [Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop.] ranged from 11 to 430 plants/m2. There were a few instances of difference in nutrient concentrations in tomato and weed leaf tissue, but no clear relationship was evident between concentration of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and S and weed density. Considerably more fruit weight was produced per kilogram of total assimilated N, P, and K in the weed-free than in the weed-infested tomato plots.

In greenhouse studies, the American strain of Striga gesnerioides (Willd.) Vatke, indigo witchweed, was potted with a wide range of potential hosts, including some known to be parasitized by this species elsewhere, and with agricultural and ornamental crops of importance in the southern United States. The host range of the indigo witchweed was very limited and no major crop species were seriously affected. Based on these host studies, it appears that indigo witchweed poses little danger to American agriculture. Other strains of the parasite were likewise shown to be host specific.

Experiments were conducted using the Avena coleoptile straight-growth test to determine the influence of diclofop {2-[4-(2,4-diclorophenoxy)phenoxy] propanoic acid}, as the acid or methyl ester, and MCPA {[(4-chloro-o-tolyl)oxy] acetic acid} on coleoptile growth of several species. Diclofop ester was a three-fold stronger inhibitor of oat (Avena sativa L. ‘Terra’) coleoptile growth than the free acid. The concentration of diclofop ester needed to inhibit 50% of the oat coleoptile growth was not influenced by IAA (indole-3-acetic acid) concentration. Oat coleoptile growth in the presence of 5 μM IAA plus 5 μM diclofop ester increased for 2 h after treatment and then decreased, so that the coleoptile length was less at the end of the 24-h assay period than at the beginning of the diclofop-ester treatment. Diclofop ester inhibited the coleoptile growth of wild oat (Avena fatua L.) > oat > wheat (Triticum aestivum L. ‘Era’) > corn (Zea mays L. inbred ‘A-239’) > corn inbred ‘CI-66’. MCPA added to the treatment solution did not overcome oat coleoptile growth inhibition from diclofop ester or acid.

Preplant-incorporated applications of commercial formulations of EPTC (S-ethyl dipropylthiocarbamate) and butylate (S-ethyl diisobutylthiocarbamate) plus the herbicide antidote R-25788 (N,N-diallyl-2,2-dichloroacetamide) were evaluated for their interactions with preemergence applications of tebuthiuron {N-[5-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl]-N,N′-dimethylurea} in corn (Zea mays L., ‘Pioneer 3780’) under greenhouse conditions. The thiocarbamate herbicides plus the antidote were used at 1.1, 2.2, 3.4, and 4.5 kg/ha, and they were evaluated against 0.3, 0.6, and 1.1 kg/ha of tebuthiuron. Shoot dry weight and shoot height of corn seedlings were measured at 24 days after treatment. Growth responses of corn to combination treatments of these herbicides were significantly reduced. Statistical analysis of the data showed that tebuthiuron interacted synergistically with both EPTC and butylate in the presence of the herbicide-antidote R-25788.

Three field studies were conducted over a 2-yr period to evaluate the persistence of fluchloralin [N-(2-chloroethyl)-2,6-dinitro-N-propyl-4-(trifluoromethyl) aniline], and to determine whether DBCP (1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane) affected persistence. Fluchloralin was applied to field plots at 1.1 kg/ha with and without DBCP at 20.5 kg/ha. In the first study, soil samples were taken periodically over a 1-yr period and assayed for fluchloralin by both gas chromatography (GC) and a sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench ‘AKS-516’) root-elongation bioassay. Both methods of analysis indicated that fluchloralin persistence was unaffected by DBCP. An oat (Avena sativa L. ‘Ora’) bioassay of soil from the field plots 41 weeks after treatment showed no residual herbicide activity. In the next two field studies, soil samples were taken periodically over a 32-week period and assayed by GC for fluchloralin. A greenhouse sorghum bioassay of soil samples taken from both tests 32 weeks after application showed residual activity of fluchloralin in one test, but differences were not attributable to DBCP. A two-phase process of fluchloralin dissipation in field soil was indicated from analysis of the data using a complex first-order regression, as opposed to a simple first-order regression. Half-life values describing fluchloralin persistence, using the complex first-order regression, ranged from 2.3 to 3.7 weeks for the first phase and 9.5 to 26.7 weeks for the second phase.

Field studies were conducted at Florence and Clemson, South Carolina to measure the influence of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] planting dates on the length of early-season weed control needed to prevent yield reductions, the rate of shade development, and suppression of annual weeds by soybeans. The rate of shade development was similar for both planting dates during the 9- to 11-week period after planting for Florence and Clemson, respectively. The period of weed-free maintenance required to prevent soybean yield reductions was not affected by planting dates. With cultivation between rows, early- and late-planted soybeans required 3 weeks of weed-free maintenance to achieve maximum yields. Lower weed weights resulted from late than early soybean plantings. At Clemson, 3 weeks of weed-free maintenance for early and late plantings reduced weed weights 97 and 91%, respectively. Weed weights at Florence were reduced 85% with 3 weeks of weed-free maintenance for the late plantings, whereas 5 weeks were required to reduce weed weights 88% for early plantings.

Fall-applied herbicides were evaluated in field studies conducted in 1978 through 1980 in western Nebraska for selective weed control in nonirrigated, established alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. ‘Ranger’). All herbicides effectively controlled downy brome (Bromus tectorum L.). Broadleaf weeds were differentially controlled by the herbicides tested. All herbicide treatments increased forage production and protein content over that produced in the untreated check. Increasing the rate of metribuzin [4-amino-6-tert-butyl-3-(methylthio)-as-triazin-5(4H)-one] and simazine [2-chloro-4,6-bis(ethylamino)-s-triazine] above amounts needed for effective weed control caused an increase in the protein content of alfalfa forage above that resulting from normal use rates.