Tests with 18 growth regulators and chemicals revealed that the cytokinins [zeatin, kinetin, and 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP)], ethylene, and sodium hypochlorite stimulate germination of cowpea witchweed seeds at various concentrations. Witchweed seeds preconditioned in different concentrations of sodium hypochlorite for 3 wk had germination rates of 25 to 89% after incubation in distilled water, 10−5M solution of kinetin, 50 mg L−1 of 2-chloroethylphosphonic acid, and exudates from cowpea roots. Witchweed seeds preconditioned in distilled water and subsequently incubated in distilled water did not germinate.

The effect of reduced light intensity on the growth and development of three common grass weeds, blackgrass, silky windgrass, and annual bluegrass, was studied. Two identical greenhouse experiments displaced in time were performed with six light levels aiming at 0%, 20%, 50%, 80%, 90%, and 95% shade corresponding to a mean daily light integral (DLI) of 12.4, 9.63, 7.13, 2.74, 0.95, and 0.69 mol m−2 d−1 in experiment 1 and 21.2, 18.0, 10.7, 3.71, 1.64, 1.20 mol m−2 d−1 in experiment 2. Climate screens of acrylic fabric were used to create the light levels. A DLI of 0.69 to 3.71 mol m−2 d−1 substantially reduced the plant height, the number of leaves, leaf chlorophyll content index, stomatal conductance, maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II, and dry matter of blackgrass. It also reduced plant height, the number of leaves, and dry matter and delayed flowering of windgrass and annual bluegrass. Annual bluegrass reacted most rapidly when light levels increased from the lowest levels by producing more leaves. DLI thresholds for blooming were estimated to be about 7.13 mol m−2 d−1 for windgrass and 1.64 mol m−2 d−1 for annual bluegrass. Annual bluegrass was able to bloom and sustain biomass even at a DLI of 1.64 mol m−2 d−1. This ability may contribute to an explanation of why annual bluegrass is among the most common weed species in highly competitive and well-fertilized crops even though it is much smaller than the two other grass species.

Greenhouse studies were initiated to identify potential interactions of the postemergence herbicide acifluorfen {5-[2-chloro-4-(trifluoromethyl)phenoxy]-2-nitrobenzoic acid} with the postemergence grass herbicides sethoxydim {2-[1-(ethoxyimino) butyl]-5-[2-(ethylthio) propyl)-3-hydroxy-2-cyclohexen-1-one}, diclofop {2-[4-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)phenoxy]propanoic acid}, and RO-13-8895 [acetone 0-(D-(2-(p-[(α,α,α-trifluoro-p-tolyl)oxy) phenoxy)propionyl)oxime}. Greatest control of barnyardgrass [Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv. # ECHCG] was obtained with the combination of acifluorfen and sethoxydim plus a crop oil concentrate. This combination increased foliar absorption of 14C-acifluorfen by barnyardgrass but not by soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr. ‘Corsoy’]. The combination of acifluorfen with diclofop appeared to reduce phytotoxicity to barnyardgrass and increase it to soybean. Little or no interaction was observed in combinations of acifluorfen and RO-13-8895.

Greenhouse and field studies were conducted to determine the effect of the isooctyl ester of MCPA on the activity of the ethyl ester of fenoxaprop in four grass species. In the greenhouse, wheat tolerated fenoxaprop better than barley, oat, and wild oat. Among wild oat populations, SH 430 was the most tolerant to fenoxaprop followed by MON 73, CS 40, the natural population, and AN 51. MCPA reduced fenoxaprop activity in wheat and barley, protecting the crops from herbicide injury. However, MCPA did not reduce the activity of fenoxaprop in most wild oat lines. In field studies, wheat and barley treated with fenoxaprop at 150 g/ha plus MCPA at 300 g/ha were not appreciably different from weed-free controls while fenoxaprop applied alone at 150 g/ha damaged the crops. Fenoxaprop applied at 150 g/ha in combination with 300 g/ha MCPA resulted in at least 78% wild oat control.

Low pressure and reduced pressure fan and reduced pressure hollow cone nozzles were compared to conventional fan and hollow cone nozzles to determine their potential for reducing spray drift. Other comparisons included two different spray pressures for a low pressure fan nozzle, low and reduced pressure fan nozzles versus air-aspirating foam nozzles, low pressure versus reduced pressure fan nozzles, and reduced pressure hollow cone nozzles versus reduced pressure fan nozzles. Spray recoveries within 36 m downwind of the spray release point were significantly greater for the low pressure and reduced pressure fan and reduced pressure hollow cone nozzles than for the conventional fan and hollow cone nozzles. An air-aspirating nozzle producing spray without foaming adjuvant resulted in significantly greater spray recovery than a low pressure fan nozzle. The recovery from a reduced pressure fan nozzle having a rated flow of 12.6 cm3/s was significantly greater than that from a low pressure fan nozzle.

Trifluralin was evaluated at 1.1, 2.2, and 4.5 kg/ha in 1983 and 1984 at two locations in Iowa for residue carryover injury to corn the following seasons. Three methods of seedbed preparation (no-till, moldboard, and chisel plowing) for corn planting were also examined. There was no effect on corn growth at the 1.1 kg/ha rate of trifluralin. Averaged over the four experiments, reductions in corn height of 8 and 24% were observed 5 weeks after planting at 2.2 and 4.5 kg/ha, respectively. The relative degree of stunting due to trifluralin decreased as the growing season progressed. Early-season carryover injury was more severe in reduced tillage than in moldboard plow treatments in the 1983-84 Nashua experiment. Moldboard and chisel plowing reduced the concentration of trifluralin in the 0- to 7.5-cm zone of the soil profile by 62 and 31%, respectively, when compared to no-till. No yield reductions were observed at the 1.1 or 2.2 kg/ha rate of trifluralin. In 1984, grain yields were reduced by 8 and 16% at Ames and Nashua, respectively, by the 4.5 kg/ha trifluralin rate.

The current widespread use of ester and amine formulations of 2,4–dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4–D) and/or 2,4,5–trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5–T) has made apparent the potential vapor hazard of these herbicides in their injury to susceptible crop plants growing nearby. A method used for evaluating the volatility of proprietary formulations was reported previously (1,2) using temperatures of 70° to 75° F. At this “normal” temperature eighty commercial ester preparations representing thirty-one different formulations of 2,4–D and/or 2,4,5–T showed, conclusively, that esters such as the isopropyl, butyl, ethyl, amyl, and pentyl individually or in mixture were volatile; and the iso-octyl, butoxyethanol, tetrahydrofurfuryl, polypropylene glycol, and propylene glycol butyl ether esters were low volatile. These formulations do not comprise all the commercial preparations tested but are given only to indicate the extent of volatility found for 2,4–D and 2,4,5–T ester herbicides commonly available on the market.

Horseweed can be a problematic weed in no-till soybean fields and populations can vary in their response to 2,4-D. The objective of this study was to evaluate the growth and seed production of four horseweed populations after exposure to 2,4-D. 2,4-D amine was applied at 0, 140, 280, and 560 g ae ha−1 to 5- to 10-cm-tall horseweed plants. An additional treatment of 280 g ha−1 of 2,4-D + 840 g ae ha−1 of glyphosate was included in the study. At 2 wk after treatment (WAT), injury ranged from 47 to 98%, but by 6 WAT the injury ranged from 89 to 100% for all four populations. Between 6 and 12 WAT some individual horseweed plants started to recover. No differences in dry weights were observed between the four populations in the untreated checks at 0, 2, 6, and 12 WAT. At 280 g ha−1 of 2,4-D amine, seed production was reduced by greater than 95%. However, three of the four horseweed populations had plants that survived and produced seed after exposure to 840 g ha−1 of glyphosate + 280 g ha−1 of 2,4-D. One plant produced seed after exposure to 560 g ha−1 of 2,4-D. These results suggest that horseweed can evolve resistance to 2,4-D and no fitness penalities were observed in populations that had higher levels of tolerance to 2,4-D.

The fate of 2,4-D [(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid] in the soil under winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. ‘Nugaines’) and fallow cropping schemes was studied under the field conditions of eastern Washington in 1973 and 1974 using formulated dimethylamine salt and isooctyl ester of 2,4-D. Soil samples taken 1 hour after herbicide application showed that amine-treated plots retained considerably more applied 2,4-D than ester-treated plots. The rapidity of 2,4-D breakdown decreased gradually with time, and at the end of 6 months, an average of 0.04 ppm of 2,4-D remained in the sampled soil profile regardless of formulation, application rate, or cropping scheme. Loss of 2,4-D from the soil surface in runoff occurred when the plots were irrigated heavily one day after the herbicide application. The herbicide was also leached into the soil profile by both irrigation and natural precipitation. Herbicide concentrations in the sampled portion of the upper soil profile decreased during the summer and then increased slightly in the fall.

Among 12 of the more effective surfactants selected from a preliminary experiment, there were few differences in their ability to increase atrazine toxicity to large crabgrass [Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop.] and sorghum (Sorghum vulgare Pers.), or in toxicity to large crabgrass and sorghum when used alone. Surfactants per se showed some toxicity to large crabgrass and sorghum. As large crabgrass increased in size, it became less susceptible to injury from atrazine plus dodecyl ether of polyethylene glycol (Surfactant WK). Early spraying with atrazine plus Surfactant WK reduced the top-growth yield of six grass species.

In field studies, atrazine alone and surfactants plus atrazine applied at the 1-in weed height gave very good early weed control. Field plots treated at the 4-in weed height generally produced more weed top-growth and less sorghum than plots treated at the 1-in height. Only the preemergence atrazine treatments gave weed yields that were equal to treatments that included handweeding. Sorghum injury from the surfactants was evidenced by reduced stover yields.

Atrazine plus surfactant toxicity to emerged large crabgrass, grown in growth chambers, increased with higher relative humidities. This was not true for sorghum. The 1% surfactant mixtures generally had a lower surface tension than the 0.1% concentrations although the differences were not great. Surface tension was not the main factor governing the phytotoxicity of foliar-applied atrazine solutions. Translocation of atrazine from sorghum and large crabgrass leaves dipped in a C14-ring-labeled atrazine solution was very slight or nonexistent.

Achene germination of common crupina (Crupina vulgaris Cass. ♯ CJNVU) was 86% or greater at day/night temperatures ranging from 15/4 to 29/25 C. Germination was greatly reduced at a day temperature of 36 C, regardless of the night temperature. The time required for maximum germination (9 to 19 days) increased with decreasing night temperature. Maximum leaf area, rosette diameter, and dry-matter accumulation during vegetative growth occurred at 22/18 to 29/25 C, 22/18 C, and 22/18 C, respectively. The plants attained 50% or more of maximum dry-matter accumulation at day/night temperatures ranging from as low as 22/4 and 15/11 C to as high as 36/25 C. Net assimilation rate was relatively insensitive to growth temperature. Rosettes of common crupina grown at 22/11 or 29/18 C exhibited almost complete photosynthetic and respiratory temperature acclimation. Increasing the photoperiod from 10 to 12, 14, or 16 h accelerated flowering. Maximum achene production occurred in the 16-h photoperiod, but viable achenes were produced in all photoperiods. Temperature during vegetative growth influenced subsequent responses to photoperiod. Plants grown for 83 days in a 14-h photoperiod at 15/4 or 22/11 C and transferred to 26/20 C flowered and produced seed in photoperiods of 8 or 16 h. Plants grown at 29/18 or 36/25 C subsequently flowered only in the 16-h photoperiod at 26/20 C. Common crupina has a wide tolerance of variations in temperature and photoperiod. Its range in the United States can be expected to continue to increase.

Infestations of common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.), in descending order of incidence in Nebraska, occurred on areas occupied by soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], oats (Avena sativa L.), sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.], railroad rights-of-way, fallow land, roadsides, corn (Zea mays L.), winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), pasture, and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). Average crop yield reductions, within common milkweed communities of 11100 to 45 200 plants/ha, ranged from 2 to 10% for corn, 4 to 29% for sorghum, and 12 to 19% for soybeans. Reductions in crop yields tended to increase with increasing common milkweed populations. Germination percentage of common milkweed and sorghum were not significantly affected by growing medium conductivities below 7 and 13 mmho/cm2, respectively. Growth media at pH 2 significantly reduced germination percentage, hypocotyl length, and radicle length of both common milkweed and sorghum as compared with pH 4 to 10. Undiluted aqueous extracts of common milkweed shoot and root material significantly reduced germination percentage, hypocotyl length, and radicle length of sorghum.

Studies were conducted of one of the structural factors that influences microroughness on johnsongrass leaves. Bicellular trichomes, 47 ± 5 μm long, represented 4 to 5% of all epidermal cells. They secreted a mucilagenous material that covered 8 ± 4% of the leaf surface. Bicellular trichomes occurred in longitudinal rows, intermixed with intercostal cork-silica cells, between rows of stomata. Numbers of bicellular trichomes present per unit area were inversely related to numbers of intercostal cork-silica cells. The trichomes were the panicoid type that are reported not to secrete salts. Johnsongrass trichomes, however, could be induced to discharge salt in the mucilage-type secretions when plants were grown in a soil mixture that was high in lime. Not all secretory constituents were identified, but carbohydrates and callose were found in addition to possible low concentrations of protein. The apical or cap cell of the trichomes stained positively for lipid, protein, and polysaccharide and negatively for pectin, polyphenols, steroids, and alkaloids. The presence of trichomes increases leaf surface microroughness, but the secretion covers wax crystals, decreasing leaf microroughness and likely providing another barrier to herbicide entry through the cuticle. Bicellular trichomes on grain sorghum were similar to those on johnsongrass and also discharged secretions on the leaf surface.

A better understanding of the persistence of jointed goatgrass seed in soil and its dormancy will lead to the development of more effective weed-management strategies. Three populations of jointed goatgrass were collected from winter wheat fields in Oregon, and grown together with the winter wheat variety ‘Madsen’ in nurseries at Moro and Pendleton, OR. Germination responses of jointed goatgrass and wheat seed were recorded over 14 d at 5/5, 15/10, 15/15, 25/15, 25/25, and 30/20 C day/night temperatures and a 12-h photoperiod. Because jointed goatgrass spikelets often contain two seed, primary and secondary seed germination values were recorded. Secondary seed germination was defined as 3-mm radicle protrusion, and primary seed germination was defined as 5-mm emergence of the second coleoptile. Jointed goatgrass secondary seed germinated when exposed to all temperature regimes. Jointed goatgrass secondary seed germination occurred 3 d earlier in temperature regimes involving 15 C compared to germination at 5/5, 25/25, and 30/20 C. Final germination values for jointed goatgrass secondary seed were greatest when seed were incubated at 25/15 C. Wheat seed germinated at all temperature regimes, although the onset of germination occurred 1 to 1.5 d later at 5/5 C compared to other temperature regimes. Jointed goatgrass primary seed germinated only at 15/10, 15/15, and 25/15 C, and maximum germination occurred at 25/15 C. Dormancy in jointed goatgrass might prevent germination of seed within freshly shattered spikelets until autumn when temperatures are low and moisture is available. Because final germination percentages in jointed goatgrass primary and secondary seed were less than 100%, additional research on factors regulating dormancy is needed.

A pot bioassay, based on root growth of pregerminated corn, was used to evaluate factors influencing field persistence of chlorsulfuron, metsulfuron, triasulfuron, and tribenuron, which were applied preemergence at 0, 10, 20, and 40 g ai ha−1 to wheat grown in three soils that differed in texture (sandy loam, sandy clay loam, and silty clay loam) and pH (7.9, 4.7, and 7.6). Residual activity and leaching of all herbicides in all soils increased with increasing rate of application, with the exception of tribenuron which showed practically no residual activity and leaching in sandy clay loam soil. Sunflower sown 4 mo after tribenuron application in all soils was not injured by any rate used but was significantly affected by the other herbicides. Lentil and sugarbeet also were affected by all herbicides in all soils. These three crops sown 8 mo after herbicide application were not affected by any herbicide used in the sandy clay loam soil but were injured by chlorsulfuron, triasulfuron, and metsulfuron in the sandy loam soil. Only lentil and sugarbeet were injured by chlorsulfuron in the silty clay loam soil.

Trifloxysulfuron controls green and false-green kyllinga more effectively than halosulfuron. Studies were conducted to evaluate the absorption, translocation, and metabolism of 14C-halosulfuron and 14C-trifloxysulfuron when foliar applied to green and false-green kyllinga. No differences were observed between the two kyllinga spp. with regard to absorption, translocation, or metabolism of either herbicide. The majority of 14C-halosulfuron and 14C-trifloxysulfuron was absorbed by 4 h, with an accumulation of 63 and 47% radioactivity, respectively. Accumulation of both herbicides occurred in the treated leaf and the primary shoot from whence the treated leaf was removed, with minor accumulation occurring in the roots and newly formed rhizomes. Of the total amount of 14C-halosulfuron absorbed into the plant, 77% remained in the form of the parent compound compared with 61% of 14C-trifloxysulfuron. The parent compound was distributed mainly in the treated leaf and primary shoot, whereas polar metabolites were concentrated in the roots and rhizomes. Nonpolar metabolites of 14C-trifloxysulfuron accumulated in the treated leaf and primary shoot. These data indicate that absorption, translocation, or metabolism could not explain the variation in green and false-green kyllinga control between halosulfuron and trifloxysulfuron.

‘Mars’, ‘Lemont’, and ‘Tebonnet’ rice were treated in 1987 and 1988 with fenoxaprop, sethoxydim, and haloxyfop at 3- to 4-leaf preflood and at panicle initiation postflood growth stages. Rice stunting and stand loss generally were greater from herbicides applied at postflood than at preflood with all cultivars. Mars yields were reduced from 11 to 23% by fenoxaprop at 168 and 336 g ha−1 applied preflood or postflood. Only postflood applications of fenoxaprop reduced Lemont and Tebonnet yields. Sethoxydim at 112 and 224 g ai ha−1 reduced yields of all cultivars when applied postflood, but yields were not reduced with preflood applications. Haloxyfop preflood at 140 g ai ha−1 and postflood at 70 and 140 g ai ha−1 reduced yields of Mars both years compared to the untreated control. Yields for Lemont and Tebonnet were reduced both years only when haloxyfop was applied postflood at 140 g ha−1.

Field experiments were conducted in 1985 and 1986 under eight environments to evaluate the population dynamics of a range of silverleaf nightshade densities and to measure the effects of those populations on cotton lint yield. Dry weed weights of silverleaf nightshade stands were influenced by growing conditions among years, but were positively related to initial densities as long as 2 yr after establishment. Stem numbers increased as initial densities and stand age increased. A negative linear relationship existed between cotton lint yield and weed biomass and between cotton lint yield and stem number from both 1- and 2-yr-old weed stands. For each 1 kg/10 m of row increase in dry weed weight from 1- and 2-yr-old stands, a 9 and 21% lint yield loss/ha was predicted, respectively. For each stem/10 m of row, a 0.35 and 0.31% yield loss was predicted, respectively. Late-planted cotton was less vulnerable to yield reductions by silverleaf nightshade; however, its yield potential was also less.

The tolerance of bermudagrasses ‘Tifway’, ‘Tifgreen’, ‘Tifdwarf’, ‘Ormond’, and ‘Floraturf’ [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] cultivars to repeated annual applications of oxadiazon [2-tert-butyl-4-(2,4-dichloro-5-isopropoxyphenyl)-Δ2-1,3,4-oxadiazolin-5-one] and butralin [4-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-N-(1-methylpropyl)-2,6-dinitrobenzenamine] were evaluated over a 4-yr period. Oxadiazon treatments did not affect growth characteristics of these bermudagrasses. Butralin caused moderate to severe reduction in sod density. ‘Tifway’, ‘Ormond’, and ‘Floraturf’ were more tolerant to butralin than ‘Tifgreen’ and ‘Tifdwarf’.

Replacement series and growth analysis experiments under greenhouse and field conditions quantified and explained the competitive ability of wild oats and barley. Barley was a stronger competitor than wild oats under greenhouse and field conditions. The reciprocal yield approach showed that barley's intraspecific competition was 7.3 times greater than its interspecific competition with wild oats when calculated on a dry weight per plant basis. When leaf area per plant was the yield variable, barley's intraspecific competition was only 2.4 times greater than its interspecific competition. The difference was explained by wild oats' higher leaf area ratio. Barley had a greater leaf area, root and shoot biomass, absolute growth rate, and shoot-root ratio than wild oats, but wild oats' leaf area ratio was always higher. No differences were detected in relative growth rate and net assimilation rate.