Sensitivity of 49 tomato cultivars and four weeds to DPX-E9636 was determined in greenhouse experiments. Cultivar tolerance varied from completely tolerant to intolerant. The most efficacious application method in greenhouse experiments was early POST for the weeds tested (yellow nutsedge, prostrate eclipta, and paraquat-resistant and -sensitive American black nightshade). Paraquat-resistant American black nightshade was 123 times more sensitive to DPX-E9636 than the paraquat-sensitive biotype. Under field conditions and at 0, 36, or 72 g ai/ha applied one week after transplanting, tomato cultivars showed no response to DPX-E9636 in visual vigor ratings 3 wk treatment, or in shoot fresh or dry weight 4 wk after treatment.

Greenhouse and field experiments were conducted to identify alternative herbicide treatments for the control of a biotype of American black nightshade which has been shown to tolerate paraquat. In greenhouse experiments the combination of paraquat and the metal chelator diethyldithiocarbamate at either 1% w/v or 3% w/v, and diquat alone significantly lowered I50 values, based on dry weight, when compared with paraquat alone. None of these treatments provided acceptable control (>90%) in field experiments. Treatments that controlled American black nightshade under field conditions were: monocarbamide dihydrogensulfate at 9 kg ai ha-1, monocarbamide dihydrogensulfate at 9 kg ha-1 + paraquat at 0.6 kg ha-1, lactofen at 0.6 kg ha-1, oxyfluorfen at 0.6 kg ha-1, and acifluorfen at 0.6 kg ha-1. Addition of tridiphane at 1.7 kg ha-1 to paraquat at 0.6 kg ha-1 did not improve control of American black nightshade under field conditions.

Leaves of torpedograss and American black nightshade were extracted with chloroform at room temperature. A 2-s dip was sufficient to remove most of the epicuticular wax from torpedograss. However, epicuticular hydrocarbon weight represented only 6.4% of the total extract weight and 6.94 μg g−1 fresh weight of chlorophyll were found in the 2-s extract. This represented 25% of the chlorophyll detected in the 232-h extract. In American black nightshade, epicuticular hydrocarbons continued to be removed from the leaf surface up to 6 h of extraction. Epicuticular hydrocarbons represented 0.6% of total extract weight. In the 6-h extract, 4.02 μg g−1 fresh weight of chlorophyll were found. This represented 17% of the chlorophyll detected in the 232-h extract. Evaluation of leaf surfaces using scanning electron microscopy indicated that epicuticular wax was being removed from torpedograss leaves up to 1 h. However, there was little visible evidence for wax extraction from the surface of American black nightshade leaves.

In field experiments at Prosser, WA, black nightshade (Solanum nigrum L. # SOLNI), eastern black nightshade (S. ptycanthum Dun. # SOLPT), American black nightshade (S. americanum Mill. # SOLAM), hairy nightshade (S. sarrachoides Sendtner # SOLSA), and sometimes accessions within a species responded differentially to herbicides applied preplant incorporated, preemergence, or postemergence. Also, the response of the nightshades to some of the herbicides varied significantly between years. Generally, black nightshade was more tolerant of herbicides than were the other three species. An accession of black nightshade from England and an accession of eastern black nightshade from Minnesota were the most tolerant of herbicides of eight accessions evaluated. Of the 25 herbicides evaluated, preplant-incorporated applications of ethalfluralin [N-ethyl-N-(2-methyl-2-propenyl)-2,6-dinitro-4-(trifluoromethyl) benzenamine] and preemergence applications of alachlor [2-chloro-N-(2,6-diethylphenyl)-N-(methoxymethyl)acetamide], chloramben (3-amino-2,5-dichlorobenzoic acid), lactofen [1′-(carboethoxy)ethyl 5-[2-chloro-4-(trifluoromethyl) phenoxy]-2-nitrobenzoate], and metolachlor [2-chloro-N-(2-ethyl-6-methylphenyl)-N-(2-methoxy-1-methylethyl] acetamide] controlled all species best. These herbicides reduced the oven-dry weights of both accessions of all four species of nightshades by 93% or more. Nightshades varied widely in their response to the thiocarbamates.