Soybean field experiments were conducted to compare weed interference data obtained from small 2.7-m2 plots to that obtained from large 11-m2 plots. Soybean row spacings of 15, 30, 45, and 90 cm were used. Sicklepod, common cocklebur, and soybean biomass as dry matter were harvested from small plots 10 weeks after planting and were compared to weed biomass and soybean seed yield from the large plots. Sicklepod and common cocklebur biomass in small plots increased and soybean biomass decreased as soybean row spacing increased. Soybean biomass was not affected by row spacing when weeds were not present. Sicklepod and common cocklebur biomass in large plots increased and soybean seed yield decreased as soybean row spacing increased. Soybean seed yield was not affected by row spacing when weeds were not present. Comparison of regression coefficients for paired regression lines indicates that soybean biomass from small plots may be substituted for seed yield from large plots as a measure of sicklepod or common cocklebur interference if both size plots use the same soybean row spacing and are irrigated until harvest.

Field studies were conducted during 1983 and 1984 to determine the single and interactive effects of trifluralin, soybean thrips, and the sodium salt of acifluorfen on soybean. Increased soybean injury was observed in 1983 when acifluorfen at 0.6 kg ai/ha was applied to soybeans infested with soybean thrips versus plants where soybean thrips were controlled. Soybean injury measured by percent defoliation and visual injury ratings was reduced when thrips were controlled versus soybeans where thrips were not controlled with carbaryl at 0.9 kg ai/ha in 1983. Soybean thrips alone did not reduce soybean seed yield in this study. Acifluorfen reduced soybean photosynthetic rate, shoot weight, root weight, and seed yield. Trifluralin had no effect on soybean growth parameters measured in this study.

The impact of four weed management systems on weed seed reserves in soil, yearly weed problem, and production of barley, corn, pinto bean, and sugarbeet was assessed where these crops were grown in rotation for 4 consecutive years in four cropping sequences. Weeds were controlled in each crop with only conventional tillage or conventional tillage plus minimum, moderate (system 1), and intensive (system 2) levels of herbicides. Seed of annual weeds from 11 genera were identified, with barnyardgrass and redroot pigweed comprising 66 and 19%, respectively, of the initial 90 million weed seed/ha present in the upper 25 cm of the soil profile. After the fourth cropping year, overall decline in total number of weed seed in soil was 53% when averaged over four cropping sequences and four weed management systems. Over the 4-yr period, about 10 times more weeds escaped control in system 1 than in system 2; and within a crop, the fewest number of weeds escaped control annually in barley. System 2 had the highest herbicide use in each cropping sequence, the fewest weeds at harvest, and the smallest adjusted gross return over the 4-yr period in three of four cropping sequences.

Seedling alfalfa exhibited increased phytotoxicity from bromoxynil when applications were made with temperatures greater than 28 C both in controlled environments and in the field. Treatments applied in the morning were more phytotoxic than treatments made in the late afternoon. In laboratory experiments, inhibition of oxygen evolution occurred within 1 h after treatment. The amount of permanent damage sustained was dependent on the rate of bromoxynil and the length of time the alfalfa was exposed to light or darkness immediately after spraying. Bromoxynil treatments in cool weather and/or in the late afternoon should minimize injury to the crop.

Broadcast applications of hexazinone [3-cyclohexyl-6-(dimethylamino)-1-methyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione] pellets and foliar sprays were tested at four rates for hardwood control and safety to loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) at each of eight study locations differing in soil characteristics. Reduction in the number of hardwoods in the stand (hardwood density reduction) was greater with the pellet on soils with more than 60% sand, while the liquid formulation was most efficacious for finely textured soils. Hardwood density reduction with the pellet was negatively correlated with percent silt, clay, soil organic matter, and cation exchange capacity, and positively correlated with percent sand. With foliar sprays, hardwood density reduction was positively correlated with hexazinone rate and negatively correlated with soil pH. Pine mortality was positively correlated to percent sand with the pellet and negatively correlated to soil pH with broadcast sprays. Regression models incorporating pine height, herbicide rate, soil texture, cation exchange capacity, soil organic matter, and acidity could explain up to 78% of the variation in hardwood density change and 77% of the variation in pine mortality. Selective control of hardwoods in young loblolly pine stands is a function of hexazinone rate, formulation, and various soil factors.

An economic analysis of four weed management systems employed on four crop sequences in a barley-corn-pinto bean-sugarbeet rotation in eastern Colorado was computed. Weeds were controlled in each crop with only conventional tillage or conventional tillage plus minimum levels of herbicides (systems 3 and 4), moderate levels of herbicides (system 1), or intensive levels of herbicides (system 2). Adjusted gross returns were higher for systems 3 and 4 where herbicide use was less/year and decreased over 4 yr than for systems 1 and 2 where herbicide use was higher/year and constant. When the four crop sequences were aggregated using yield and sucrose indices, the least herbicide-intensive weed management system had $440/ha/4 yr higher indexed adjusted gross return than the most herbicide-intensive weed management system. An income risk analysis showed that the herbicide-intensive weed management system was not risk efficient and that producers would select one of the other three less herbicide-intensive weed management systems depending upon their risk preferences.

The precise delivery of small quantities of herbicide solutions to leaf surfaces is difficult to achieve, yet most absorption research has this requirement. An atomizer for delivering microliter quantities of herbicide solutions has been designed, constructed, and tested. The function of the atomizer is to quantitatively apply low-volume (1-to 10-μl) solutions of herbicides, especially radioactive herbicides, to plant surfaces. The appearance of droplets from the atomizer and a flat-fan nozzle were similar and both yielded deposits that were much smaller than a 1-μl droplet applied by syringe. There was no splatter loss of herbicide when applied with the atomizer, and the bio-activity of the herbicide was equal to that applied as a single droplet. The atomizer yielded drops similar to those from a flat-fan nozzle and should produce absorption results more representative of those found under field conditions.

A 3-yr study was conducted to evaluate efficacy and soybean tolerance of cinmethylin. Cinmethylin was applied preemergence alone at 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0 kg ai/ha or in combination with metribuzin at 0.3 kg/ha. These treatments did not injure soybeans in field trials in 1984, 1985, and 1986. The combination of cinmethylin at 0.7 kg/ha and metribuzin at 0.3 kg/ha controlled more than 90% of large crabgrass, fall panicum, and yellow foxtail. Redroot pigweed and common lambsquarters control was also excellent. Residual control of all grass species was excellent for 8 weeks after preemergence application, followed by reduced control in two of the three grasses. The combination of cinmethylin and metribuzin at 0.7 and 0.3 kg/ha, respectively, significantly increased soybean yields compared to those of untreated plots. These yields were comparable with those obtained from the combination of alachlor and metribuzin at 2.0 and 0.3 kg/ha, respectively. Cinmethylin treatments had no adverse effects on soybean yield components including pods/plant, seed/pod, and seed weight. Cinmethylin shows potential as a preemergence herbicide for full-season weed control in soybean production.

Gliocladium virens, when grown on peat moss amended with sucrose and ammonium nitrate and then applied to soil, resulted in root necrosis. Herbicidal activity was correlated with fungal production of the phytotoxin viridiol. Viridiol had a wide spectrum of activity; it was particularly effective against annual composite species but was less effective in monocot control. Emergence of most weeds was reduced >90% at application rates of 8.7% (of total volume) or less. Treated seedling dry weights were drastically reduced. Applications of 4.5% reduced root and shoot weight of redroot pigweed by 93 and 98%, respectively. Crops were affected at higher treatment levels; however, the toxicity was readily avoided by applying the mycoherbicide out of the root zone of the crop, instead applying it between the seed and the soil surface. Viridiol production, which confers herbicidal activity, was detected 3 days after incorporation of the fungus-peat mixture. Viridiol production peaked on days 5 and 6 at approximately 25 μg viridiol/100 ml soil, based upon an application rate of 11%, then declined to undetectable levels by the end of 2 weeks.