Few weed management options are available for juneberry, which has limited the potential for this new crop. Field trials were initiated at three locations in North Dakota to evaluate efficacy and crop safety associated with chemical and physical weed control treatments applied just before or immediately after transplanting. All treatments except norflurazon and trifluralin provided at least 85% control of redroot pigweed, common lambsquarters, common purslane, and yellow foxtail for the duration of the trial at Absaraka, ND, during 2001. Stinkgrass weed control 8 wk after treatment (WAT) dropped to unacceptable levels (<85%) with all treatments except azafenidin at 0.5 kg ai/ ha, norflurazon, and oxyfluorfen at 1.1 kg ai/ha at Dawson, ND, during 2001. However, juneberry injury 4 WAT by azafenidin at 0.5 kg/ha, flumioxazin at both locations, or azafenidin at 0.34 kg/ha and oxyfluorfen at 1.1 kg ai/ha at Absaraka, ND, was greater than observed for plants within the physical treatments. Juneberry injury generally decreased with time, yet remained >20% at 8 WAT for azafenidin and flumioxazin at Absaraka, ND, and for all treatments except the mulches at Dawson, ND. Plant injury 8 WAT at Absaraka in 2002 was 10% or less for all treatments and was lower compared with 2001. All physical treatments—azafenidin at 0.34 and 0.5 kg/ha, flumioxazin at 0.29 kg/ha, and oryzalin at 4.5 kg/ha—provided at least 85% control of all weed species at Carrington and Absaraka, ND, during 2002.

Integrated weed management tactics are necessary to develop cropping systems that enhance soil quality using conservation tillage and reduced herbicide or organic weed management. In this study, we varied planting and termination date of two cereal rye cultivars (‘Aroostook’ and ‘Wheeler’) and a rye/hairy vetch mixture to evaluate cover-crop biomass production and subsequent weed suppression in no-till planted soybean. Cover crops were killed with a burn-down herbicide and roller-crimper and the weed-suppressive effects of the remaining mulch were studied. Cover-crop biomass increased approximately 2,000 kg ha−1 from latest to earliest fall planting dates (August 25–October 15) and for each 10-d incremental delay in spring termination date (May 1–June 1). Biomass accumulation for cereal rye was best estimated using a thermal-based model that separated the effects of fall and spring heat units. Cultivars differed in their total biomass accumulation; however, once established, their growth rates were similar, suggesting the difference was mainly due to the earlier emergence of Aroostook rye. The earlier emergence of Aroostook rye may have explained its greater weed suppression than Wheeler, whereas the rye/hairy vetch mixture was intermediate between the two rye cultivars. Delaying cover-crop termination reduced weed density, especially for early- and late-emerging summer annual weeds in 2006. Yellow nutsedge was not influenced by cover-crop type or the timing of cover-crop management. We found that the degree of synchrony between weed species emergence and accumulated cover-crop biomass played an important role in defining the extent of weed suppression.

Cover crop-based reduced tillage (CCBRT) has achieved positive impacts in organic row crop systems, contributing to the conservation of soil resources and the facilitation of weed management. This technique, which uses cover crop residues as mulches to suppress weeds, has shown more variable success in organic vegetable production systems. This experiment examined CCBRT for small-scale organic vegetable production in the upper Midwestern USA, specifically evaluating weed suppression, labor inputs and crop yields. Cereal rye (Secale cereale L.) and winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) were fall-sown in 2012 and 2013 in a strip-plot design, including control treatments with no cover crop and spring-applied oat straw mulch. Cover crop plots were strip-tilled in mid-April to establish a planting zone, with cover crops terminated in late May at anthesis with a hand-tractor mounted sickle-bar mower. Bell peppers (Capsicum annuum L. var. ‘Revolution’), snap beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L. var. ‘Tavera’), and potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L. var. ‘Red La Soda’) were hand-planted either as transplants or seed in each treatment immediately following cover crop termination. During each summer growing season, weeds were completely eliminated from each plot by hand approximately every 10–14 days, with time for manual weeding recorded for each treatment. Vegetable crop yields and quality were measured at harvest during 2013 and 2014. Cereal rye and winter wheat produced similar biomass at the time of termination. Greater weed biomass was collected in the wheat treatment as compared with the cereal rye, increasing the in-season labor required for manual weeding. Bean yields were decreased in the all CCBRT treatments compared with control treatments in both years of the study. Pepper yields did not differ in CCBRT treatments as compared with the control in both 2012 and 2013, although the CCBRT treatments did yield lower marketable peppers compared with the straw mulch plots. Potato tuber yields were not different in the CCBRT treatments as compared with the control in 2012, but were lower in 2013. These data indicate that, if CCBRT is to be more widely adopted in small-scale vegetable production, further optimization of the system must be achieved to ensure consistent and adequate weed suppression while maintaining crop yield and quality.

Introduction. Under the sub-tropical climate of India, ‘Sweet Charlie’ strawberry is being grown on a large scale. However, under such climatic conditions, it is not possible to transplant runners before mid-October, because the environmental temperature is very high, and planting after mid-October is also not good because then winter sets in and affects growth, development, flowering and fruiting of strawberry. Under such circumstances, covering of strawberry beds with row covers and mulching with plastic mulch can be useful for early and high production by way of modifying the leaf physiology and producing marketable berries in high number. Materials and methods. Row covers of transparent polyethylene (100-µm thickness) were erected over beds after one month of transplanting of the runners. Mulching (black polyethylene, white polyethylene and paddy straw) was also applied after one month of transplanting of the runners; it was removed only after fruiting was over. Observations on different leaf physiological parameters were made. Results. Row covers and mulching individually or in combination significantly influenced plant physiology, growth, berry yield attributes and albinism incidence. Plants showed better growth and physiological attributes under row covers than without row covers. Plants had the best growth and physiological attributes under black polyethylene mulch. Berry weight and yield were the highest in plants under row covers and black polyethylene mulch. Although the [row covers × mulching] interaction showed the highest incidence of albinism, berry yield per plant (excluding albino fruit) was significantly the highest with that combination. Conclusion. Erection of row covers and mulching in winter is highly useful for better growth and production of strawberry under a sub-tropical climate.

Introduction. Planting time is considered as one of the most important factors for successful strawberry cultivation. Traditionally, under north-Indian plains, strawberry is planted after the second week of October, which results in the availability of fruits for a month or so. With the use of plasticulture techniques, the planting time can be enhanced, which facilitates early and higher production, and enhances availability of the fruit for a longer period. Mulching is the most important cultural practice in strawberry, which influences plant growth, fruit yield and quality. Hence, studies were conducted to determine the influence of planting time and mulching on growth, flowering and fruiting behaviour, yield and quality of strawberry in northern plains of India. Materials and methods. Studies were conducted on ‘Chandler’ strawberry with three planting times (mid-September, mid-October and mid-November) as the main effect and three mulching materials (black polyethylene, clear polyethylene and paddy straw) as the sub-main effect in a split-plot design with three replications. Standard procedures were adopted for making observations on plant growth parameters, flowering and fruiting behaviour, yield and quality parameters under different treatment combinations. Results and discussion. Mid-September planting favoured vigorous growth, enhanced flowering and fruiting, which resulted in the production of the largest fruits and highest yield of the best quality. Among the three different mulch materials, plants mulched with black polyethylene had the best growth, fruit weight, yield and quality compared with those mulched with clear polyethylene or paddy straw mulch. The [planting time × mulching] interaction was also found to be significant for all measured parameters. Conclusion. Our study revealed that, in northern plains of India, to get an early and high yield of the best quality under a micro-irrigation system, Chandler strawberry could be planted in mid-September if mulched with black polyethylene.

Introduction. Litter on the ground is a primary source of Botrytis cinerea inoculum in boysenberry (Rubus hybrid) gardens. The effect of litter management on primary inoculum production, and flower and berry infections was determined. Materials and methods. A series of experiments ranging from laboratory to large-scale field evaluations were conducted in New Zealand during 1997-2002 to evaluate litter management options for control of B. cinerea. The laboratory trial investigated the effect of litter size (shredded vs. unshredded litter) and debris amendments on tissue degradation and B. cinerea colonization. The field trial (four sites) investigated the effect of litter amendments (compost, urea and fungicide) and piling litter on B. cinerea sporulation. In the 4-year commercial-scale study (three properties), the effect of litter treatment (piling, compost and microbial extracts/suspensions) on primary inoculum, flower and berry infections was assessed. Results and discussion. The laboratory trial showed that bark + sewage sludge compost amendment enhanced litter decomposition and reduced B. cinerea sporulation on infected tissue after 8 weeks. The field trial indicated that piling of shredded boysenberry debris was more important than litter amendments in reducing the amount of B. cinerea harbored within the litter. Commercial field-scale evaluation of litter management options verified that piling of shredded litter is the most important step in B. cinerea inoculum control from debris. It also showed that microbial litter amendments (compost, solutions or extracts) can be beneficial. While B. cinerea inoculum control also reduced the amount of flower infections, berry infections at harvest were not affected, indicating that other sources of B. cinerea inoculum contribute to berry infection post-flowering.

Introduction. Albinism is a serious physiological disorder of strawberries in which fruits appear bloated, develop poor color and flavor, and become susceptible to fruit rot during storage. Many factors have been reported to be associated with albinism, but vigorous vegetative growth of the plants is considered as the primary factor. Mulching is the most important cultural practice in strawberry, which is known to influence plant growth, yield and fruit quality. Our studies aimed at observing the influence of different types of mulch materials on strawberry growth and albinism disorder. Materials and methods. Studies were conducted with five cultivars (Sweet Charlie, Chandler, Douglas, Fern and Etna) cultivated with three types of mulch materials (black polyethylene, white polyethylene and paddy straw). No mulch was used as a control. Observations were recorded on plant growth parameters, albinism incidence and fruit quality parameters of five cultivars under different mulch materials. Results and discussion. All growth parameters were better with mulching than with control. Among the different types of mulch materials, plants had the best growth with black polyethylene, but the fruits were more affected by albinism as compared with those cultivated with paddy straw mulch. Among the cultivars, the plants of Etna showed the most vigorous growth, but their fruits had the highest incidence of albinism (49.88%); those of Sweet Charlie had the lowest incidence (20.74%), primarily because of the close relationship between plant growth and albinism. Conclusion. Black polyethylene mulch favored better plant growth in strawberry, but enhanced the incidence of albinism in a sub-tropical climate as compared with paddy straw. Thus, paddy straw is the best option for use as mulch for strawberry in warmer localities.

Termites are important agricultural pests in the semi-arid tropics. Conventional methods of control have relied on persistent organochloride insecticides with accompanying health and environmental problems. In contrast, cultural control methods provide untested, but environmentally sound options to farmers. This study reports results from three experiments on the use of mulches to reduce Microtermes obesi and Odontotermes spp. damage with relevance to groundnut production in India.

Termites scarification of groundnut was 80–90% lower for pods dried in neem cake or Ipomoea fistulosa mulches than for pods dried directly on the soil. Similarly, subterranean attack by termites on bamboo baits was 20–40% lower in mulched plots than in controls. However, mulches were ineffective in protecting bullock manure from removal by termites.

Successful use of mulches in termite control may be related to food source concentration. Termite location of concentrated food sources, such as bullock manure, was followed by recruitment of workers and construction of protected runways. In contrast, termites foraging on limited food sources, such as groundnut pods, did not construct runways and had greater exposure to mulches.