Studies were conducted in 2002 and 2003 on a golf course fairway in New Jersey to compare spring, summer, and fall treatments of bispyribac-sodium for annual bluegrass control and creeping bentgrass tolerance. Single applications at 74, 111, or 148 g ai/ha were applied in May, August, or October. Split applications of 37 followed by (fb) 37 or 74 fb 74 g/ha applied 3 wk apart were also evaluated. Summer-applied bispyribac-sodium did not reduce bentgrass quality, whereas spring and fall treatments reduced turf quality at 3 wk after treatment and fall treatments in 2002 substantially reduced bentgrass quality. Summer treatments were more effective than spring or fall treatments in reducing annual bluegrass cover. Final evaluations revealed 36, 31, 21, and 26% annual bluegrass cover averaged across nontreated, spring-treated, summer-treated, and fall-treated plots, respectively. This study demonstrates that two split applications of bispyribac-sodium at 74 g/ha in summer can effectively reduce annual bluegrass cover while minimizing creeping bentgrass injury.

Response of creeping bentgrass, annual bluegrass, and Kentucky bluegrass to foliar, soil, or foliar plus soil applications of bispyribac-sodium was evaluated in greenhouse studies. Soil-alone and foliar plus soil applications of bispyribac-sodium at 148 or 296 g ai/ha resulted in greater injury and shoot dry weight reduction of all species 28 d after treatment (DAT) compared to foliar-alone treatments. Creeping bentgrass was less injured than annual or Kentucky bluegrass regardless of application placement. Further studies evaluated foliar and root absorption and translocation of 14C-bispyribac-sodium in creeping bentgrass, annual bluegrass, Kentucky bluegrass, and roughtstalk bluegrass. Foliar absorption into creeping bentgrass was less than that of other species at most harvest timings from 4 to 72 h after treatment. Annual and roughstalk bluegrass translocated greater amounts of foliar-absorbed 14C to the crown and shoots compared to creeping bentgrass. Annual and roughstalk bluegrass accumulated approximately 47% more 14C per dry weight of plant tissue than creeping bentgrass and 74% more than Kentucky bluegrass after 72 h in nutrient solution containing 14C-bispyribac-sodium. Annual and roughstalk bluegrass translocated approximately 80% of root-absorbed 14C to shoots, whereas creeping bentgrass and Kentucky bluegrass translocated slightly less (66% of absorbed for both species). These studies suggest that bispyribac-sodium is readily absorbed by roots and translocated to shoots which may contribute to its total activity within a plant. In addition, creeping bentgrass displayed lower amounts of foliar and root absorption and subsequent translocation than annual and roughstalk bluegrass which may contribute to greater bispyribac-sodium tolerance displayed by creeping bentgrass.

Field studies were conducted in 2002 and 2003 in New Jersey to determine the length of time after a bispyribac-sodium application at which creeping bentgrass, Kentucky bluegrass, and perennial ryegrass can be safely reseeded. Bispyribac at 148 or 296 g ai/ha was applied 6, 4, 2, or 1 week before seeding (WBS). Bispyribac at 148 g/ha applied 1 WBS reduced ground cover of creeping bentgrass and Kentucky bluegrass at 3 weeks after seeding (WAS) by 30 and 42% as compared to the nontreated check, respectively. Reductions in Kentucky bluegrass and creeping bentgrass ground cover from bispyribac at 296 g/ha applied 1 WBS were evident at 28 WAS, whereas perennial ryegrass recovered from initial reductions in ground cover by this time. Applications made 6 to 2 weeks before seeding did not adversely affect ground cover of any species at any evaluation date as compared to the nontreated check. These studies suggest creeping bentgrass, Kentucky bluegrass, and perennial ryegrass can be safely reseeded 2 weeks after a bispyribac application. However, ground cover may be reduced by bispyribac applied 1 WBS.

In the state of Illinois, waterhemp and smooth pigweed are among the worst agricultural weeds. Previous research shows high potential for hybridization between these two species. However, the actual occurrence of hybrids in natural settings is still uncertain. Morphological similarity between hybrids and waterhemp makes field surveys of hybrids difficult to conduct. The main purpose of this study was to characterize the morphology of waterhemp × smooth pigweed F1 hybrids, emphasizing evaluation of characters that may allow for hybrid discrimination in field Amaranthus communities. Concurrently, the study characterized hybrid reproductive fitness, chromosome number, and DNA content. To accomplish this, hybrids were obtained from field crosses. A species-specific polymorphism in the ALS gene was used to verify hybrid identity. Significant differences (α = 0.05) between hybrids and individuals of the parental species were observed for five staminate and five carpellate characters. Of these, five characters differentiated hybrids from waterhemp. However, clustering analyses using these characters indicated that morphological differences were not reliable enough, by themselves, for unambiguous hybrid identification. Also, hybrid homoploidy (2n = 32) with respect to parental species excluded chromosome counts in hybridity determinations. However, DNA content analysis may be used for such purpose. Hybrids had an average of 1.21 pg of DNA per 2C nucleus, a value intermediate to that of parental species. Hybrids produced 3.3 or 0.7% the seed output of parental and sibling waterhemp individuals, respectively. Percent micropollen in hybrids was 95-times greater than in parental species. Hybrid sterility appears to be the most reliable feature for hybrid discrimination when conducting field surveys. However, molecular and cytogenetic analyses as employed in this study may be desired for ultimate identity corroboration.