Two months after 5-amino-4-chloro-2-phenyl-3(2H)-pyridazinone (pyrazon) application (2.7 kg/ha), 80 to 100% of the total residue (1.3 to 4.2 μg/g) was in the upper 5 cm of soil. Herbicide movement occurred in soils that contained 3.8% organic matter or less. Pyrazon did not move below 10 cm or accumulate in soil as a result of movement. Adsorption of pyrazon was related to soil organic matter content (r = 0.90) and accounted for differences in herbicide movement previously observed. Calculations of pyrazon movement, based on soil organic matter content, coincided with depths of movement observed under field conditions.

The development of amylase activity controlled by the embryo in the distal halves of intact barley (Hordeum vulgare L., var. Larker) seeds during the first 2 days of germination was prevented by the presence in the culture solution of 10−4 M 7-oxabicyclo-(2.2.1)heptane-2,3-dicarboxylic acid (endothall), 3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxybenzonitrile (bromoxynil), 2,6-dichlorobenzonitrile (dichlobenil), or 3 amino-2,5-dichlorobenzoic acid (amiben) and was not overcome by the simultaneous addition of gibberellic acid. The aforementioned herbicides did not inhibit gibberellic acid-induced amylase synthesis in de-embryonated halved barley seeds. The amiben and bromoxynil inhibition of barley germination was slightly reduced by the simultaneous addition of 10−2 M glucose to the culture solution. Amiben and bromoxynil also inhibited the development of low levels amylase activity found in 2-day-old squash (Cucurbita maxima Duchesne, var. Chicago Warted Hubbard) cotyledons; however, added benzyladenine overcame the inhibition. In contrast to barley, benzyladenine was shown to induce the development of amylase activity in squash. Tolerance of squash and other seeds low in carbohydrates to amiben and bromoxynil during germination may be related to their independence from herbicide-inhibited carbohydrate degradation for energy and carbon source required for anabolic processes.

The impact of invasive weed management on plant community composition is highly dependent on location-specific factors. Therefore, treatment means from experiments conducted at a given set of locations will not reliably predict community response to weed management elsewhere. We developed a model that rescales treatment means to better match local conditions. The goal of this paper was to determine if this rescaling improves predictions. We used our model to predict leafy spurge stem length density and grass biomass data from field experiments. The experiments consisted of herbicide-treated plots, untreated controls, and, in some cases, grass seeding treatments. When herbicides suppressed leafy spurge, the model explained 21 to 48% more variation in grass response than did mean grass response to the same or similar herbicide treatments applied at other sites. When herbicides killed grass, the model explained 53% more variation in leafy spurge response than did mean leafy spurge response to the same herbicide treatment applied at other sites. We regressed model predictions against observed data and tested the null hypothesis that resulting slope terms were equal to 1.0. Because the null hypothesis was rejected in two of four tests, the model may systematically over- or underpredict in some situations. However, measurement error in the observed data, unintended herbicide injury, or an inaccurate allometric relationship may account for a major proportion of the systematic deviations, and these factors would not cause prediction error in some management applications. Because the model tends to be better than the means from experiments at predicting plant community composition, we conclude that the model could advance managers' ability to predict plant community responses to invasive weed management.

Experiments were conducted in a growth chamber to study alachlor and metolachlor metabolism in soil and corn and to determine if alachlor and metolachlor and their metabolites are exuded from corn roots to the growth medium. Alachlor was more readily absorbed by corn than was metolachlor. The absorption of alachlor and metolachlor was 72 and 55%, respectively, 10 d after seedling emergence (DAE). Alachlor and metolachlor were rapidly metabolized in corn, although metabolism rates were higher with metolachlor than with alachlor. Ten similar alachlor metabolites were detected in roots and shoots. In addition, two metabolites were detected only in the shoots, and one metabolite was detected only in the roots. Metolachlor metabolism in corn produced fewer metabolites than did alachlor metabolism. At 5 DAE, 10 and 9 metabolites were detected in shoots and roots, respectively. The metabolism of alachlor and metolachlor in soil showed patterns similar to the metabolism in corn but produced fewer metabolites. One unique alachlor metabolite appeared in soil but not in corn. Roots of corn seedlings treated with 14C-alachlor or 14C-metolachlor released significant amounts of radioactivity to the surrounding growth medium 5 d after treatment. Plants treated with alachlor released more radioactivity than did plants treated with metolachlor.

Weed scientists face complex and difficult challenges. Within our discipline, we must increase the sustainability of current weed management approaches and help respond to invasive plants as a component of global change. There also are major challenges that we share with other agricultural disciplines, such as mounting comprehensive efforts to address the problems of current agriculture. We believe that any effective response to these challenges will require public work, i.e., projects in which a diverse group of people work together—across lines of difference (professional, cultural, etc.)—to produce broad-based, systemic innovations that meet complex challenges. We propose that weed scientists should join relevant public-work projects by practicing “public scholarship.” We define public scholarship as original, creative, peer-evaluated intellectual work that is fully integrated in a public-work project. By full integration we mean that the scholar's work serves to fuel the social (i.e., collective) learning of the public-work group. This condition requires that the scholar be a full participant in the group rather than just being in a consultative or advisory role. We present several case studies of weed scientists practicing public scholarship. These scientists found this mode of scholarship to be a highly effective means by which to address their professional priorities. Barriers to the practice of public scholarship include the lack of relevant guidelines and norms within academic culture, e.g., with regard to quality-assurance standards. But public scholarship offers weed scientists a new way of responding to increasingly urgent demands to show that our work effectively produces public value in return for public investment. We believe that graduate programs in weed science should begin to offer students opportunities to learn skills that are relevant to public scholarship.

Season-long weed control has been a goal of some producers of irrigated corn (Zea mays L.) to reduce competition, lessen weed seed production, facilitate crop harvest, improve water efficiency (particularly with furrow irrigation), and improve aesthetic properties of fields. Field experiments were conducted for 3 yr on sprinkler-irrigated corn on a loamy fine sand. Five herbicides applied at layby generally provided season-long control of grass weeds and reduced weed seed production up to 100%. Pendimethalin [N-(1-ethylpropyl)-3,4-dimethyl-2,6-dinitrobenzenamine] was particularly effective. Yields of irrigated corn were not increased by layby herbicide application. Use of corn rows spaced 91 cm apart and use of a shorter, early-maturing, horizontal-leaf corn cultivar resulted in greater weed growth and weed seed production than did use of 76-cm rows and a taller, full-season, upright-leaf corn cultivar. After nearly complete weed control with herbicides for 2 yr, withholding herbicide use in the third year allowed weed growth which reduced corn yield. Indications were that weed control efforts need to be continuous in irrigated corn production.

The influence of water stress on johnsongrass [Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers. ♯ SORHA] physiology was evaluated in a semiarid environment. Stomatal conductance of johnsongrass responded to more negative leaf water potential and increasing leaf temperature. The sensitivity of the leaf temperature effect was dependent on the soil water content. At low soil water content, conductance was limited by low water potential, and increasing leaf temperature had little effect. Conductance of CO2 was related to net photosynthesis in a curvilinear manner, with conductance levels greater than 0.3 mol·m-2· s-1 being in excess of that necessary for maximum photosynthesis. At both high conductance levels and low levels associated with increased water stress, intercellular CO2 concentration increased, indicating nonstomatal limitations to photosynthesis. Decreased osmotic potential provided the highest correlation with the linear decline of photosynthetic rate as stress intensified. The expression of osmotic adjustment in johnsongrass is reported during grain filling. Plants in the milkdough stage of grain filling had approximately 0.3 MPa lower osmotic potential at any relative water content than those at anthesis.

Applications of the substituted phthalimide growth regulators AC-94377 [1-(3-chlorophthalimido)cyclohexanecarboximide] and AC-99524 [1-tetrahydrophthalimido-cyclohexanecarboximide] to the soil surface stimulated germination and emergence of dormant wild mustard seed (Sinapsis arvensis L. ♯4 SINAR) shallowly planted in soil in greenhouse experiments. Surface applications of AC-94377 enhanced the germination and emergence of dormant wild mustard seed planted 0.6 cm deep in soil from nine locations as the rates were raised from 0.4 to 3.7 kg ai/ha. Surface application of AC-94377 increased emergence rates and also extended the period of wild mustard emergence. Increasing quantities of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) straw on the soil surface reduced the effect of surface-applied AC-94377 on shallowly buried dormant wild mustard seed. When dormant wild mustard seed were buried 1.3, 2.5, or 3.8 cm deep, surface applications of AC-94377 also stimulated greater emergence than the dormant controls from these depths, strongly suggesting that the compound moved from the surface to the depth of planting.

Postdispersal weed seed predation is a significant source of weed mortality in agroecosystems. The magnitude of seed predation, however, is variable. Understanding the relative importance of factors driving variability in seed predation rates will increase the potential utility of seed predation to farmers. We conducted landscape-scale field experiments to quantify and compare the effects of space, time of sampling, and habitat on weed seed predation. Seed predation assays, with and without vertebrate exclosures, measured seed predation rates at spatially explicit sample sites across 8.5 ha of crop and noncrop habitats on a diversified organic vegetable farm in Maine. Total and invertebrate seed predation averaged 8% and 3% d−1, respectively. Vertebrate seed predators detected by motion-sensing cameras included small mammals and birds. A ground beetle, Harpalus rufipes, was highly dominant in pitfall traps, comprising 66% of invertebrate seed predators captured within crop fields. Seed predation was randomly distributed in space. However, time of sampling and habitat were highly significant predictors of seed predation. Variance partitioning indicated that habitat factors explained more variation than did time of sampling. Total seed predation was greater in crop and riparian forest habitats than in mowed grass, meadow, or softwood forest. Generally, invertebrate seed predation was greatest at sites with an intermediate degree of vegetative cover, whereas habitat type was the chief biotic determinant of vertebrate seed predation rates. These results suggest cover cropping and wetland conservation as practices that may bolster seed predation rates.

The primary goal of this research was to determine whether crop damage from herbicides measured soon after treatment could estimate relative crop yield loss. Two to 4 wk after spraying soybeans with an unregisrered mixture of rhifensulfuron plus sethoxydim at various rates plus crop oil concentrate, percent stunting was visually rated and percent projected ground cover of soybeans was determined from photographs. In each of 3 yr, relative percent soybean yield was a negative linear function of relative herbicide rate from 0.25× to 2× the registered (1×) rate. The 1× rate of thifensulfuron and sethoxydim was 17.5 and 420 g ai ha−1, respectively. Relative soybean yield was also negatively related linearly to stunting but positively related linearly to soybean ground cover over 3 yr. Linear regression equation models of relative soybean yield versus percent soybean ground cover explained more model variability, more consistently (R 2 ≥ 0.60 in two of 3 yr) than did either stunting (R 2 ≥ 0.60 in one of 3 yr) or relative herbicide rate (R 2 = 0.37 to 0.48 over 3 yr). However, linear regression models for each independent variable differed from year to year and were related to differences in rainfall following treatment. Ways are suggested to increase regression model precision and between-year reproducibility.

Soil residues from annual trifluralin (α,α,α-trifluoro-2,6-dinitro-N,N dipropyl-p-toluidine) applications were determined over a 4-year period on a Sharpsburg silty clay loam at Lincoln, Nebraska. A phytotoxic residue of trifluralin persisted in the soil for 1 or more years especially at above-normal rates of trifluralin. Repeated applications of trifluralin did not cause a significant buildup of trifluralin in the soil. There was little herbicide remaining in the soil during subsequent years from normal rates of trifluralin.

Picloram (4-amino-3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinecarboxylic acid) and metsulfuron {2-[[[[(4-methoxy-6-methyl-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)amino] carbonyl] amino] sulfonyl] benzoic acid} were applied to broom snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae [Pursh.] Britt. and Rusby # GUESA) on two spring dates and three fall dates from October 1983 to 1985. Applications of picloram and metsulfuron in the fall more effectively controlled broom snakeweed than applications in the spring. Lower herbicide rates were necessary for 90% or greater control on a sandy loam than on a silty clay loam. Grass yield increased significantly the first, second, and third growing seasons when a majority of the broom snakeweed were killed by either herbicide, but was not different from untreated rangeland when less than 50% of the plants were killed. Reduction in broom snakeweed densities of 90% or greater following applications of picloram or metsulfuron resulted in 3- to 5-fold increases in the estimated carrying capacity of rangeland in east-central New Mexico.

The persistence of 2-chloro-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine (atrazine) residues under greenhouse conditions was affected by levels of activated carbon added to a silica sand potting medium and by up to four consecutive crops of corn (Zea mays L.). Degradation of atrazine within the sand and removal by the corn crops were both reduced by activated carbon. Atrazine removal by successive crops of corn reduced injury to oat seedlings grown on the sand alone, and absorption by 1.2 g of carbon per kilogram of sand prevented oat injury both with and without cropping. Although 0.4 g/kg of activated carbon inhibited atrazine removal by corn, oat seedlings were not protected from the residues remaining. When exposed to alternate freezing and thawing, the ability of 0.4 g/kg of activated carbon to deactivate atrazine was reduced causing increased oat injury.

Acetolactate synthase–- (ALS-) inhibiting herbicides are frequently used to control annual bluegrass in managed turfgrass systems. Recently, the number of annual bluegrass populations resistant to these herbicides has increased on golf courses. Previous research involving annual bluegrass resistance to ALS inhibitors has included elucidating the mechanism of resistance and in vivo response of ALS to ALS-inhibiting herbicides. The purpose of this research was to generate baseline information on enzymatic parameters of resistant (R) and susceptible (S) annual bluegrass biotypes and further distinguish these biotypes by comparing vegetative growth and reproductive characteristics. The R biotype contained a mutation in the ALS gene resulting in a Trp574 to Leu amino acid substitution. Compared to the S biotype, the R biotype exhibited a 27- and 10-fold resistance to trifloxysulfuron at the whole-plant level and under in vitro conditions, respectively. No significant differences were observed in substrate concentration at one-half maximum rate of enzyme activity (pyruvate) or extractable ALS activity between biotypes, but the maximum rate of enzyme activity was higher for the R biotype. The feedback inhibition of ALS activity by the branched-chain amino acids was higher for the R biotype than the S biotype, with leucine, valine, and isoleucine inhibiting ALS activity 20, 6, and 4% more in the R biotype, respectively. The R biotype produced more inflorescences and seeds per plant in comparison with the S biotype, but relative growth rates between biotypes were similar at all harvest intervals. Our research provides baseline information regarding ALS enzyme response, vegetative growth, and reproductive characteristics of annual bluegrass biotypes resistant and susceptible to ALS-inhibiting herbicides.

As new targets for herbicide action are identified from genomics research, large and diverse chemical collections and high-throughput assays will be required to maximize the probability of identifying compounds with activity at these targets. The new technology of combinatorial synthesis and high-throughput, miniaturized, in vitro screening, which has become an integral part of pharmaceutical discovery, is now being applied to discover new herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides. Depending on the synthesis design, the products of a combinatorial synthesis, referred to as a library, may be either unbiased or biased toward an intended target. Unbiased libraries are generally prepared to maximize chemical diversity around a central core structure or scaffold. Often containing 10,000 to 30,000 compounds each, these libraries are encoded and prepared by a combinatorial methodology known as mix-and-split, which produces compounds as mixtures. The preparation of these large libraries requires robust synthetic methodology that will accommodate reactants (building blocks) with diverse structures. Biased libraries tend to be smaller in size, ranging from 100 to 2,500 compounds. They are prepared using synthetic methodology that produces collections of discrete compounds (parallel synthesis) or pools of five to 10 compounds per pool (mix-and-split synthesis). Compounds in biased libraries are rationally designed to contain structural motifs or pharmacophores that are presumed to be beneficial for activity on the intended target. Screening is conducted in microtiter assay plates containing from 96 to 864 wells per plate. For in vitro assays, high-density formats (864 wells per plate) are preferred. The higher density format allows for testing higher concentrations and fewer compounds per well, which leads to a more rapid identification of the active molecules. For in vivo assays, 96-well formats are preferred. Regardless of the microtiter plate format, multiple beads are distributed into plates by robotic pipetting, and single beads are distributed via robot-controlled suction pipets. Test compounds are cleaved from the beads and transferred in solvent to assay plates. Required reagents are added to the plate to initiate the assay. A wide range of in vitro and in vivo herbicide, insecticide, and fungicide assays can be conducted in microtiter plates.

Aqueous solutions of sodium and calcium polysulfides convert labeled simazine, 2-chloro-4,6-bis(ethylamino)-s-triazine-2,4,6-C14, to a chloroform insoluble, charcoal adsorbable derivative which is thought to be hydroxysimazine, 2-hydroxy-4,6-bis(ethylamino)-s-triazine-2,4,6-C14. In soil, calcium polysulfide accelerates the breakdown of simazine as shown by oat bioassay. These results suggest the possibility of using polysulfides to remove unwanted residues of chlorotriazine herbicides from crop lands.

The effect of fully-saturated bicyclic and partially-saturated tricyclic dimethylureas and dimethylthioureas on the photolytic activity (Hill reaction) of chloroplasts isolated from turnip greens (Brassica spp.) was studied. Photochemical activity was measured potentiometrically with ferricyanide as the electron acceptor. Chemicals tested were 3-[5-(3a,4,5,6,7,7a-hexahydro-4,7-methanoindenyl)]-1,1-dimethylurea; 3-(chloro-2-norbornyl)-1,1-dimethylurea; 1,1-dimethyl-3-(2-norbornyl)urea; and the 3 corresponding thioureas. Concentrations of the 3 polycyclic ureas required to inhibit the Hill reaction by 50 percent (I50) were respectively 4.0 × 10-6 M, 1.2 × 10-5 M, and 6.6 × 10-5 M. The thioureas were not very inhibitory to the Hill reaction; consequently, their I50 values were not determined. The fully or partially-saturated polycyclic dimethylureas were weaker inhibitors of the Hill reaction than the phenyldimethylureas. The decreased inhibitory activity of the polycyclic ureas was attributed to increased lipophilic properties, unfavorable spatial configurations, and lack of resonance interaction between the ring system and the imino nitrogen.

The butoxyethanol and propylene glycol butyl esters of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) were applied to and recovered from the leaf surfaces of garden bean and corn plants. Both the acid and the ester of 2,4-D were recovered, indicating that hydrolysis of the esters had occurred. The acid and esters of 2,4-D were also found in both leaves and stems of the bean plants, indicating that further hydrolysis had occurred within the plants. Bean plant homogenates incubated with 2,4-D esters yielded 2,4-D acid. The root exudate from corn plants treated with 2,4-D butoxyethanol ester showed the presence of both acid and ester.

Some factors affecting the absorption and translocation of radioactive 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T) in blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica Muench.) were studied. Absorption of 2,4,5-T was less in plants treated late in the growing season than in those treated earlier. Absorption and translocation of 2,4,5-T were inversely related to soil moisture stress. Increases in the rate of application from 10 to 50 μg of 2,4,5-T per plant caused a decrease in absorption and translocation, but decrease of the latter did not occur until the rate was increased above 25 μg/plant. Translocation was highest in June and was higher from the leaves of mature plants than from young regrowth.

Gross autoradiography showed that translocation of C14-labeled 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole (amitrole) from the leaf of quackgrass (Agropyron repens (L.) Beauv.) was retarded over 12 hr by ammonium thiocyanate applied as a spray or as a spot. While considerable export of C14 from the treated leaf occurred during 12, 24, and 96 hr after C14-amitrole was applied, C14-NH4SCN as a tracer was largely restricted to the treated leaf over the first 24 hr and showed only slight export over 96 hr. It was concluded that the synergistic effect of NH4SCN on amitrole is exerted in the treated areas and not at the ultimate site of amitrole action.