Colletotrichum gloeosporioides f. sp. malvae (C.g.m.) was evaluated under greenhouse conditions for round-leaved mallow control in combination with the following herbicides: bromoxynil plus MCPA (1:1), diclofop, imazethapyr, metribuzin, sethoxydim, and 2,4-DB. Treatments consisted of C.g.m. and herbicide applied alone, tank mixed, and C.g.m. applied 48 h before, and 1, 24, and 72 h after herbicide. Split applications with bromoxynil plus MCPA, imazethapyr, metribuzin, (C.g.m. before or after) and sethoxydim (C.g.m. before) enhanced round-leaved mallow control over C.g.m. applied alone. However, diclofop or 2,4-DB tank mixed or applied in a split application with C.g.m. did not improve round-leaved mallow control over C.g.m. applied alone. Bromoxynil plus MCPA, metribuzin, 2,4-DB, and imazethapyr may be tank mixed with C.g.m. without significantly reducing round-leaved mallow control, unlike sethoxydim or diclofop which inhibited C.g.m. development. Dew period did not influence the effectiveness of bromoxynil plus MCPA applied 30 h before C.g.m., but round-leaved mallow control increased with increasing dew period for metribuzin applied 30 h before C.g.m.

Concern about the effects of pesticides on the environment and the desire to reduce purchased inputs are stimuli to reduce herbicide use. Field research was conducted at two locations for two growing seasons to identify integrated weed management practices in corn that are effective and economical. Weed control treatments included PRE application of a herbicide mixture of 1.8 kg ai ha−1 of atrazine plus 2.2 kg ai ha−1 of metolachlor alone, this mixture broadcast or band-applied at a reduced rate in combination with mechanical weeding, and mechanical weeding alone. Weed control, corn yield, and economic returns were generally higher in treatments combining herbicides and mechanical weeding than those using only mechanical measures. Without herbicides, timeliness of rotary hoeing was critical. Herbicide use can be reduced 50 to 75% in integrated systems with minimal risk of yield loss due to uncontrolled weeds.

A practical expert system is needed to handle POST weed control in herbicide-intensive crops such as wheat, barley, oat, rye, sugarbeet, corn, and sorghum. SELOMA is an expert system having a step-by-step problem-solving procedure closely resembling what a weed management expert would follow. It is based on field surveys of weed density, and crop and weed growth stage and height. SELOMA evaluates weed competitiveness and provides weed management advice. It suggests whether or not to intervene, chemical and mechanical weed control treatments, and selects the best herbicides, including commercial formulations, costs, and optimal dosages.

A field study was conducted from 1987 to 1992 to determine the effectiveness of several treatments consisting of combinations of glyphosate and/or quizalofop with tillage to control quackgrass in legume plowdown and continuous annual crop rotations. The treatments were imposed on the quackgrass in 1987 and/or 1988, evaluated in 1989 (cycle 1), reimposed on the same plots in 1990 and/or 1991 and re-evaluated in 1992 (cycle 2). Where continuous barley was grown, glyphosate applied at 0.45 kg/ha before seeding in 1987 (cycle 1) and 1990 (cycle 2), and combined with fall tillage in the first two years of each cycle, reduced quackgrass shoot density and rhizome dry weight by more than 96%. In a legume plowdown rotation, consisting of barley underseeded to red clover followed by plowdown and barley in subsequent years, quackgrass was reduced by a similar amount by glyphosate at 0.45 kg/ha applied in 1987 and 1990 before seeding or in 1988 and 1991 at 5 d before or 6 wk after red clover plowdown. Quackgrass reduction from all of these treatments was as effective as the labelled rate of glyphosate (0.90 kg/ha) applied at the same times, and also as effective as glyphosate applied at 0.45 kg/ha in combination with tillage in a year of fallow. Without fall tillage the efficacy of glyphosate applied before seeding was reduced. Quizalofop at 0.20 kg/ha applied to canola in a rotation of canola followed by two years of barley, reduced quackgrass, but was less effective than glyphosate treatments with fall tillage. Reducing quackgrass populations resulted in significant increases in crop yields.

Field studies were conducted from 1990 through 1997 to evaluate the long-term effect of 2- and 3-yr rotations on the control of downy brome, jointed goatgrass, and feral rye in winter wheat. At the completion of the study, jointed goatgrass and feral rye densities averaged 8 plants/m2 and < 0.1 plant/m2 for the 2- and 3-yr rotations, respectively. Downy brome densities averaged < 0.5 plant/m2 for both the 2- and 3-yr rotations, with no treatment differences observed. Winter annual grasses were not eradicated after two cycles of the 3-yr rotations, but weed densities were reduced 10-fold compared to densities after one cycle and more than 100-fold compared with the 2-yr rotations. Wheat grain contamination with dockage and foreign material followed a similar trend. The 3-yr rotations were economically competitive with 2-yr rotations and provided superior control of the winter annual grass weeds.

A low-volume (21.5 L/ha) spinning disc (controlled droplet applicator) and a high-volume (187 L/ha) boom-nozzle applicator were compared in applying tank mixtures of the weed pathogen Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Penz.) Sacc. f. sp.] aeschynomene (henceforth designated C.G.A.) and acifluorfen {5-[2-chloro-4-(trifluoromethyl)phenoxy]-2-nitrobenzoic acid} for control of northern jointvetch [Aeschynomene virginica (L.) B.S.P. # AESVI] and hemp sesbania [Sesbania exaltata (Raf.) Rydb. ex A.W. Hill # SEBEX] in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr. ‘Tracy M’]. Application with a spinning disc did not increase control of either weed species over the boom-nozzle applicator. C.G.A. controlled northern jointvetch in 2 of 3 yr. Northern jointvetch control with the spinning-disc was poorer at lower rates in years of unfavorable environment. Acifluorfen at 0.56 kg ai/ha and applied with either applicator controlled hemp sesbania satisfactorily.

Field experiments were conducted in 2001 and 2002 to study the effect of date of planting, herbicide, and straw mulch on menthol mint yield and oil quality in northwest India. Menthol mint was planted at three dates (December 10, December 30, and January 20). Diuron was applied prior to emergence at rates of 0.0, 0.4, and 0.6 kg ai/ha, with and without rice straw mulch (6 t/ha). Menthol mint planted on December 30 and January 20 produced more plantlets and dry matter than the December 10 planting. Menthol mint planted on December 10 had higher weed density and weed biomass, and lower menthol mint herbage and oil yield than the later planting dates. Straw mulch application reduced weed density and weed biomass, and increased plantlet population, menthol mint dry matter accumulation, fresh herbage, and menthol mint oil yield. Preemergence (PRE) applications of diuron at 0.4 and 0.6 kg ai/ha increased menthol mint population and crop dry matter accumulation, and decreased weed density and weed biomass compared to the weedy check. Diuron at 0.6 kg/ha increased fresh herbage and menthol mint oil yield over the untreated weedy check, but there were no other differences between the two rates of diuron. Physicochemical properties of menthol mint oil were not affected by any of the three tested factors.

A 2-yr study was conducted near Mead, NE, to determine the interaction of six corn (Zea mays) hybrids having different heights and leaf angles and four herbicide rates on velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti) and green foxtail (Setaria viridis) biomass rating and seed production. Corn hybrid grain yields averaged over herbicide rates differed by up to 1,100 kg/ha in 1993 and 3,000 kg/ha in 1994, yet similar grain yield reductions occurred for all hybrids as herbicide rate decreased. Corn hybrids differed in suppression of weed growth and seed production, but suppression differences among hybrids were not consistent across years. Plots with the very tall, erect-leaf hybrid had 7.4 velvetleaf plants/m2, whereas other hybrids had 8.6 to 10.1 plants/m2. Plots with the very tall, erect-leaf hybrid also produced the lowest quantity of velvetleaf seeds of 23,100 seeds/m2 versus 25,100 to 30,700 seeds/m2 for plots with other hybrids. Erect-leaf hybrids suppressed weeds more effectively than horizontal-leaf hybrids. Corn hybrids had less effect on early- Fand late-season weed densities and biomass ratings and on seed production than herbicide application. Selection among current corn hybrids as a tool in integrated weed management will have a small or inconsistent influence on weed suppression.

Kudzu is an aggressive, nonnative vine that currently dominates an estimated 810,000 ha of mesic forest communities in the eastern United States. To test an integrated method of weed control, abundances of kudzu and other plant species were compared during 4 yr after six herbicide treatments (clopyralid, triclopyr, metsulfuron, picloram + 2,4-D, tebuthiuron, and a nonsprayed check), in which loblolly pines were planted at three densities (0, 1, and 4 seedlings m−2) to induce competition and potentially delay kudzu recovery. This split-plot design was replicated on each of the four kudzu-dominated sites near Aiken, SC. Relative light intensity (RLI) and soil water content (SWC) were measured periodically to identify mechanisms of interference among plant species. Two years after treatment (1999), crown coverage of kudzu averaged < 2% in herbicide plots compared with 93% in the nonsprayed check, and these differences were maintained through 2001, except in clopyralid plots where kudzu cover increased to 15%. In 2001, pine interference was associated with 33, 56, and 67% reductions in biomass of kudzu, blackberry, and herbaceous vegetation, respectively. RLI in kudzu-dominated plots (4 to 15% of full sun) generally was less than half that of herbicide-treated plots. SWC was greatest in tebuthiuron plots, where total vegetation cover averaged 26% compared with 77 to 111% in other plots. None of the treatments eradicated kudzu, but combinations of herbicides and induced pine competition delayed its recovery.