Wild garlic (Allium vineale L.) plants were buried 10, 15, and 20 cm deep in soil at 2-week intervals from September 1 until November during a 4-yr period. Plants were also buried in early spring. When buried 15 to 20 cm deep after mid-October, less than 5% of the plants produced above-ground shoots during the following 2 yr. When buried 15 to 20 cm deep on April 1, no above-ground shoots were produced during the following 2 yr, but burial on April 15 was less effective. These data suggest that deep plowing at the proper date may control wild garlic if subsequent tillage is shallow enough to avoid bringing wild garlic bulbs to the surface.

Amitrole (3-amino-s-triazole), asulam (methyl sulfanilylcarbamate), glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine], and fosamine [ethyl hydrogen (aminocarbonyl)phosphonate] were effective in reducing the amount of shoot regrowth from field horsetail (Equisetum arvense L.) 3 months after treatment. The order of effectiveness was amitrole > glyphosate > asulam > fosamine. The advantage of adding surfactant to the spray formulation or applying herbicides to wet foliage was rate dependent for all herbicides except fosamine. Spray retention was increased by application to wet foliage and by the inclusion of surfactant in the formulation. Spray retention increased as spray volume and plant size increased and as plant growth became prostrate. A scanning electron microscope study of the shoot surfaces showed an abundance of silica-containing structures and the presence of epicuticular wax. Certain surfaces of the scale leaves did not have these characteristics, indicating that redistribution of spray to these areas may result in greater penetration with subsequent increases in herbicide performance.

EPTC (S-ethyl dipropylthiocarbamate) reduces hypocotyl growth of lettuce [Lactuca sativa (L.) ‘Grand Rapids’] seedlings in response to gibberellic acid (GA3) in the lettuce hypocotyl bioassay. Doses of 0.01, 0.1, and 1.0 mM EPTC were effective over a range of gibberellin concentrations. Significant reductions in hypocotyl growth in response to all doses of EPTC and GA3 at 7.68 μg/ml occurred between 12 and 24 h after initial treatment. In a 72-h experiment, pulse treatments of EPTC at 0.01, 0.1, and 1.0 mM plus GA3 at 7.68 μg/ml for only 1 or 2 h at the beginning reduced the subsequent response of the bioassay when plants were transferred to GA3 alone for the remaining 71 or 70 h, respectively. Final hypocotyl growth in GA3 at 7.68 μg/ml was reduced by exposure to EPTC at 0.01, 0.1 and 1.0 mM plus GA3 at any time during the entire 72 h test period. The interaction between EPTC and GA3 was not due to herbicide-induced precipitation nor decomposition of GA3 in the medium. This was demonstrated by separation of [14C]-GA3 in four thin-layer chromatography solvent systems after incubation in the presence or absence of 1.0 mM EPTC for 48 h. Apparently EPTC can reduce the growth response of sensitive species to exogenous gibberellins in addition to its effects on endogenous gibberellin-like substances or gibberellin biosynthesis.

The effects of temperature and dew period on infectivity of Puccinia chondrillina Bubak and Syd. and the effect of light intensity on uredospore germination were studied under controlled environmental conditions. When rush skeletonweed (Chondrilla juncea L.) plants were inoculated with uredospores at 8, 16, and 24 C, larger pustules developed faster at 24 C than at the cooler temperatures. The greatest amount of infection occurred at 8 and 16 C (75% of the leaf area infected compared to 25% at 24 C). The greater number of infection sites at cooler temperatures was coincident with an increase in uredospore germination at 8 and 16 C compared to 24 C. Increasing the dew period from 0 to 6 h increased the amount of infection by the rust. Light intensities as low as 0.5 klux significantly reduced uredospore germination on water agar. Germ tube growth was restricted significantly by light intensities of 2.5 to 4.5 klux. Applications of uredospores to aid in biological control of this serious weed would be most successful if made at dusk under cool temperatures when an extended dew period is expected.

Cotton [Gossypium hirsutum (L.) ‘Hancock’] lint yield or quality was not adversely affected under weed free conditions by three consecutive annual preemergence applications of up to 1.68 kg/ha fluometuron [1,1-dimethyl-3-(a,a,a-trifluoro-m-tolyl)urea] alone or in combination with 0.84 kg/ha trifluralin (a,a,a-trifluoro-2,6-dinitro-N,N-dipropyl-p-toluidine) preplant incorporated on silt loam soils of the Memphis catena containing less than 1% organic matter. Similar applications of fluometuron at 3.36 kg/ha delayed maturity of cotton plants and ultimately reduced lint yields. Trifluralin treatments tended to overcome the detrimental effects of high rates of fluometuron. There was no effect on fiber development and maturation because fiber length and fineness (micronaire) were virtually identical for all treatments. The effect on maturity as determined by percent first harvest was a reflection of slower plant growth and fruiting and not of the development of the fiber itself. These results indicate no detrimental effects on cotton yield, maturity, and quality from annual applications of these herbicides at rates recommended and normally used in Tennessee.

Field experiments were conducted to study the effects of jimsonweed (Datura stramonium L.) densities and planting dates on the growth and yield of soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr. ‘Amsoy 71’]. Jimsonweed densities of 1.5 and 2 plants/m2 did not reduce the dry weight of soybean leaf, stem, root, or pod and seed tissues, leaf area index, plant height, pod number, or seed yield when soybeans and jimsonweed were planted at the same time. Weed densities ranging from 3 to 16 plants/m2 did reduce one or more of these soybean growth parameters. A significant density-by-year interaction was observed in which soybean growth reductions caused by high jimsonweed densities were less when competition for water was minimized by above-average precipitation in 1 of the 2 yr. No density of jimsonweed that emerged when soybeans were at the fourth trifoliolate-leaf stage reduced crop growth or yield.

In greenhouse studies, spurred anoda [Anoda cristata (L.) Schlecht.] control by Alternaria macrospora Zimm. was influenced by stage of growth, inoculum concentration, and the temperature and duration of the dew periods following inoculation. Seedlings inoculated at the cotyledon to first-leaf stage were most easily controlled. Optimum dew periods for killing seedlings were ≥ 24 h at 20 to 30 C. Spray mixtures containing 2.5 to 10 × 105 spores/ml gave the best control. In field studies, A. macrospora significantly reduced the number and the dry weight of spurred anoda plants.

Over a 4-yr period, glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine] was applied over-the-top to soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] at five rates, from 0.56 to 3.36 kg/ha, at four periods of time prior to harvest, 23 to 29 days, 15 to 21 days, 7 to 12 days, and 1 to 4 days. Soybean yields were reduced when glyphosate was applied at 2.24 and 3.36 kg/ha 23 to 29 days before harvest. Soybean seed were discolored following all five rates of glyphosate applied 23 to 29 days before harvest, following glyphosate at 1.12 to 3.36 kg/ha applied 15 to 21 days before harvest, and following glyphosate at 3.36 kg/ha applied 7 to 12 days before harvest. Germination of soybean seed was reduced at 30 C only when glyphosate was applied at 2.24 and 3.36 kg/ha 23 to 29 days before harvest, or at 3.36 kg/ha applied 15 to 21 days before harvest. At alternating temperatures (10.6 C for 72 h followed by 30 C for 72 h), all treatments applied 23 to 29 days before harvest reduced soybean seed germination; glyphosate at 1.12, 1.68, and 3.36 kg/ha applied 15 to 21 days before harvest also reduced germination. Seed from plots treated with glyphosate 23 to 29 or 15 to 21 days before harvest produced atypical soybean plants. Glyphosate at 2.24 and 3.36 kg/ha applied 23 to 29 days before harvest reduced the oil content in soybean seed, but none of the treatments consistently affected the protein content.

Interference within a mixture of equal densities of common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album L.), kochia [Kochia scoparia (L.) Schrad.], and redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.) in sugarbeets (Beta vulgaris L. ‘Mono Hy D2’) was determined in a 3-yr field study. Yield of sugarbeet roots and sucrose per hectare decreased as intensity of competition from equal populations of these three weeds increased. At densities of 6, 12, 18, and 24 broadleaf weeds per 30 m of row, root yields were reduced 13, 24, 33, and 39%, respectively. Sucrose yields were reduced similarly. Fewer than three weeds per 30 m of row did not significantly reduce root yield. Reduction in root yield (Y) of sugarbeets caused by specific densities (X) of the three broadleaf weeds was predicted by using the linear equation Y = 1.64 + 1.88 X. The actual reductions in yield were always less than the predicted reductions when this equation was tested against 36 weed control systems because the competitive ability of broadleaf weeds that were treated with herbicides, but not killed, was suppressed during the growing season. By harvest, broadleaf weeds present in weed-control-system plots weighed an average of 75 to 85% less than broadleaf weeds present in nontreated plots.

The influence of manure and herbicide applications on weed-free fieldbeans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and root rot of fieldbeans was studied during 1978 and 1979 at Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Rates of cattle feedlot manure used were 0, 30000, 56000, 112000, or 168000 kg/ha. Preplant herbicide treatments used were alachlor [2-chloro-2′6′-diethyl-N-(methoxymethyl)acetanilide] at 3.4 kg/ha, EPTC (S-ethyl dipropylthiocarbamate) at 3.4 kg/ha, EPTC + trifluralin (α,α,α-trifluoro-2,6-dinitro-N,N-dipropyl-p-toluidine) at 2.2 + 0.6 kg/ha, or dinoseb (2-sec-butyl-4,6-dinitrophenol) at 6.7 kg/ha. Manure rates of 56000 kg/ha or higher reduced fieldbean yields both years, but did not increase electrical conductivity or soil exchangeable sodium enough to explain these yield reductions. In 1978, but not in 1979, height and yield of weed-free fieldbeans were reduced by EPTC, EPTC + trifluralin, and alachlor treatments. A significant interaction between manure and herbicide treatments was not detected and none of the treatments increased the severity of root rot in either year.

Glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine] significantly decreased the chlorophyll content of field-grown soybeans (Glycine max L. Merr. ‘Williams’) within 48 h after a 2.24-kg/ha treatment. In laboratory studies, 0.0001, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, and 1 mM glyphosate reduced chlorophyll content of 7-day-old etiolated barley (Hordeum vulgare L. ‘Barsoy’) shoots 8, 12, 25, 49, and 77%, respectively, following 8 h dark incubation and 24 h illumination. Reduction of chlorophyll accumulation ranged from 6% with 0.001 mM glyphosate to 82% with 1.0 mM glyphosate. In studies with 8-day-old etiolated corn (Zea mays L. ‘Pioneer Brand 3535’) shoots, 0.1, 1.0, and 10.0 mM glyphosate decreased chlorophyll content of corn shoots 24, 42, and 50%, respectively, after 12 h of illumination. The rate of chlorophyll accumulation in corn shoots was significantly reduced 64% by 1.0 mM glyphosate over a 15-h illumination period. These rapid and substantial effects on chlorophyll accumulation suggest that interference with greening may be important in the mechanism of action of glyphosate.

Combinations of herbicides applied preemergence and postemergence, with and without cultivation, were evaluated for their effectiveness for controlling weeds in soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr. ‘Williams’]. Annual weeds were controlled best when a sequential treatment of a mixture of alachlor [2-chloro-2′,6′-diethyl-N-(methoxymethyl)acetanilide] + linuron [3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1-methoxy-1-methylurea] was applied preemergence, and glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine] was applied postemergence, followed by one cultivation. The largest soybean yields were obtained when alachlor + linuron applied preemergence was followed by a cultivation, bentazon [3-isopropyl-1H-2,1,3-benzothiadiazin-4(3H)-one 2,2-dioxide] applied postemergence, bentazon applied postemergence and a cultivation, or glyphosate applied postemergence and a cultivation. Regression analysis of the soybean yield vs. weed control data for all treatments indicated that soybean yields were suppressed an average of 180 kg/ha when glyphosate was applied postemergence. A cultivation in addition to the preemergence and postemergence treatments improved both weed control and soybean yield.

Over-the-top applications of metriflufen {2-[4-(4-trifluoromethylphenoxy)phenoxy] propanoic acid} at 0.6 to 2.2 kg/ha were highly toxic to johnsongrass [Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers.], but caused little visual injury to soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr. ‘Hill’]. Directed applications of metriflufen at 0.8 to 3.4 kg/ha provided equal and, in a few comparisons, better control of johnsongrass than did some rates of the herbicide applied over-the-top. Application of metriflufen at 0.8 and 1.7 kg/ha in directed sprays resulted in higher soybean yields than did comparable treatments applied over-the-top; yields of directed vs. over-the-top applications of metriflufen at 3.4 kg/ha resulted in statistically equal soybean yields. The research suggested that metriflufen entered johnsongrass plants through shoots and leaves and also through roots. Johnsongrass control was excellent following applications of metriflufen at 1.7 and 2.2 kg/ha without soybean injury and with greatly increased soybean yields. Results following over-the-top applications of metriflufen at 1.1 kg/ha to ‘Hill’, ‘Tracy’, ‘Lee 68’, ‘Bragg’, and ‘Forrest’ soybeans at three different stages of morphological development did not demonstrate any appreciable differences in the response of the cultivars to the herbicide.