Field experiments in 1988, 1989, and 1990 evaluated the response of four pepper cultivars to PPI applications of metolachlor at Las Cruces and Artesia, New Mexico. Metolachlor at ≥ 2.2 kg ai ha–1 in 1988 and 4.5 kg ha–1 in 1990 reduced overall green pepper yields only in a Harkey very fine sandy loam soil at Artesia. Metolachlor at ≥ 2.2 kg ha–1 reduced the yield of the jalapeno cultivar ‘TAM’ and at 4.5 kg ha–1 reduced the yield of New Mexico cultivar ‘NM 6-4’ and a proprietary New Mexico cultivar in 1988. Metolachlor did not reduce the yield of any cultivar in 1989 or 1990. Metolachlor bioactivity on NM 6-4 pepper was similar in the three soils regardless of irrigation water source. Emergence of peppers was ranked Belen clay loam = Rakor loam > Harkey very fine sandy loam when the greenhouse temperature approximated field conditions. Under conditions where germination and emergence of peppers was reduced by an interaction between soil factors and temperature, further stand reduction due to metolachlor treatment caused yield reductions.

Herbicide-resistant crops (HRCs) have been used extensively during the past five decades, because crop tolerance is necessary for a selective herbicide. In the past, chemical company personnel screened a large number of organic compounds against a limited number of major crop and weed species to discover HRCs. Now a single herbicide can be evaluated for crop selectivity against a great number of biotypes of a single crop in tissue culture, or sometimes gene transfer can be used to produce tolerant genotypes. Thus, one can now choose an environmentally “benign” herbicide and search for or develop resistant crop cultivars. The advantages of these new HRCs are: (a) solutions may be more easily found for difficult weed management problems, (b) growers are more apt to use integrated weed management when they have effective backup weed control procedures if cultural or mechanical methods fail, (c) increased weed management options for growers of minor crops, (d) economic advantages to growers, and (e) increased use of more environmentally “benign” herbicides. Concerns about HRCs include: (a) these weed management procedures do not eliminate herbicides, (b) some believe biotechnology should not further herbicide use, (c) HRCs may become weeds, (d) this approach may facilitate less ecological diversity, (e) HRCs may increase herbicide use, (f) it could result in more herbicide carryover by facilitating the use of environmentally “harsh” herbicides, (g) HRCs may be less competitive to weeds, and (h) dependence on HRCs may decrease the weed control practices that a farmer uses. One needs to consider both the benefits and risks of HRCs to properly evaluate this technology.

Field studies were conducted for three consecutive years to determine if PRE and/or POST herbicides were needed in addition to preplant foliar-applied glyphosate and POST cultivation for maximum seed yield of irrigated and nonirrigated soybean planted in stale and undisturbed seedbeds on clay soil. Soybean seed yields following the use of PRE and POST herbicides alone or in combination were similar in all years, and exceeded seed yield following the use of glyphosate plus POST cultivation only. Plantings made in no-till and fall-till seedbeds produced similar seed yields when both PRE and POST herbicides were used. These results indicate that glyphosate plus cultivation was not adequate for soybean in stale seedbed plantings, and that either PRE or POST herbicides, but not both, were required for maximum seed yield.

Fourteen field experiments were conducted from 1988 to 1991 in Oklahoma to evaluate herbicides for red horned poppy control in winter wheat. Chlorsulfuron applied alone PRE at 9 to 26 g ai ha-1 or with metsulfuron controlled red horned poppy 90 to 100% in four of five locations. MCPA at 420 g ae ha-1 and MCPA + bromoxynil at 140 + 140 g ae ha-1 applied POST in mid November controlled red horned poppy 100%. All herbicides applied POST in mid March failed to control the weed consistently.

In field trials conducted in 1989 and 1990, fifteen postemergence herbicides were tested for phytotoxicity to kenaf. Clethodim (110 g ai ha–1), fluazifop (220 g ai ha–1), quizalofop (70 g ai ha–1), and sethoxydim (210 g ai ha–1) were not phytotoxic to kenaf in the cotyledonary stage. MSMA (2.2 kg ha–1) was not phytotoxic to kenaf at the cotyledonary or 35-cm stage. All other herbicides applied postemergence to kenaf caused significant injury.

Field studies were conducted at three locations in Louisiana over two years to evaluate mid-season, foliar-applied acifluorfen, fomesafen, and lactofen for hemp sesbania control in soybean. Acifluorfen and fomesafen were applied POST at 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 140, and 280 g ai ha–1 and lactofen was applied at 60, 80, 110, and 220 g ai ha–1. The data fit a quadratic model and log transformations were made to determine differences between treatments. Hemp sesbania control was highly correlated with herbicide rate for each herbicide. Averaged over rates of application, acifluorfen and fomesafen provided equivalent control of hemp sesbania, which was greater than that achieved with lactofen. The minimum effective rate of acifluorfen or fomesafen for 80 and 100% control of 50- to 60-cm hemp sesbania was 50 and 140 g ha–1, respectively. The minimum effective lactofen rate to provide at least 80% control was 220 g har–1.

This paper describes the application of a relatively new remote sensing tool, airborne video imagery, for distinguishing weed and brush species on rangelands. Plant species studied were false broomweed, spiny aster, and Chinese tamarisk. A multispectral video system that acquired color-infrared (CIR) composite imagery and its simultaneously synchronized three-band [near-infrared (NIR), red, and yellow-green] narrowband images was used for the false broomweed and spiny aster experiments. A conventional color camcorder video system was used to study Chinese tamarisk. False broomweed and spiny aster could be detected on CIR composite and NIR narrowband imagery, while Chinese tamarisk could be distinguished on conventional color imagery. Quantitative data obtained from digitized video images of the three species showed that their digital values were statistically different (P = 0.05) from those of associated vegetation and soil. Computer analyses of video images showed that populations of the three species could be quantified from associated vegetation. This technique permits area estimates of false broomweed, spiny aster, and Chinese tamarisk populations on rangeland and wildland areas.

Weed management is an integral part of agriculture; weeds lower both productivity and quality of agricultural products. A combination of mechanical, chemical, biological, and cultural methods is expected to deliver a sustainable weed management program for the next two decades. While chemical methods offer the most cost effective means of weed management, crop selectivity has hampered the use of the best chemicals for weed management. Recent progress in gene technology has facilitated the introduction and expression of genes to confer a wide range of traits to crop plants. Application of this technology has resulted in the development of crop plant genotypes that are resistant to a specific herbicide. This article describes the progress that has been made by our group toward the introduction of glyphosate tolerance to crop plants. Glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine] kills plants due to inhibition of the biosynthesis of aromatic compounds via the shikimate pathway. Our approach for introduction of glyphosate tolerance is based on insertion and expression in plants of a gene encoding a glyphosate-tolerant 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate (EPSP) synthase, a key enzyme of the shikimate pathway. The wild type enzyme present in plants is susceptible to inhibition glyphosate; variants of EPSP synthase have been produced that are less susceptible to inhibition by glyphosate. Expression of genes encoding these variants has been shown to confer glyphosate tolerance to plants. The degree of glyphosate tolerance is related to the tolerance characteristics of the EPSP synthase variant, its substrate activity, targeting to the plastid, and the level of expression of the variant gene. The tissue specificity of expression of the variant EPSP synthase has also been shown to be critical since glyphosate is a systemic herbicide and is translocated to many growing points within the plant. Our studies on glyphosate tolerance have substantially enhanced our understanding of the mode-of-action of glyphosate, the shikimate pathway, and protein sorting within plant cells, as well as developmental and tissue specific expression of genes in plants. Commercial use of glyphosate tolerance technology is expected to affect positively, the weed management arsenal available to the farmers, the sustainability of farm land and groundwater, and promote the use of a “soft” herbicide.

Field observations in 1986 indicated that increased injury to soybean could occur from clomazone plus metribuzin and clomazone plus linuron compared with metribuzin or linuron alone. Field experiments to measure this response were conducted in 1988, 1989, and 1990 at two locations in Michigan. Atrazine at 0, 1120, 2240, and 3360 g ha-1 was applied the year previous to soybean planting to determine if atrazine residues in the soil influenced soybean response. Herbicide treatments in soybean included clomazone, metribuzin, linuron, alachlor, clomazone plus metribuzin or linuron, alachlor plus metribuzin or linuron, and an untreated control. Additive and synergistic responses in soybean to clomazone plus linuron and clomazone plus metribuzin, regardless of atrazine application rate, occurred in some field environments. Experiments in the greenhouse demonstrated that soybean shoot weight was reduced synergistically from clomazone plus metribuzin compared with either herbicide alone, and the response was greater on a soil with 2.5% organic matter compared with a soil with 4.4% organic matter. Clomazone plus metribuzin reduced leaf area and shoot dry weight, regardless of placement, while leaf area and shoot dry weight were reduced more when clomazone plus linuron- and atrazine plus metribuzin-treated soil was placed in the same zone as the soybean seed. The synergistic interaction in soybean to clomazone plus metribuzin occurred under both cool and warm temperature regimes in growth chamber studies.

Glyphosate and SC-0224, at rates that control dodder (75 to 150 g ae ba–1), injured flowers, caused flowers to abscise, and sometimes reduced seed yields when applied to alfalfa when buds or blooms were present. Glyphosate at 75 or 150 g ha–1 did not injure flowers, impair seed set, or reduce yield or quality of seed when applied to alfalfa foliage before the bud stage.

There are three primary activities that characterize the discipline of Weed Science. These activities are weed technology, weed biology, and the ethics of weed control. Each of these activities needs to be considered as herbicide-tolerant crops (HTCs) are introduced. HTCs are the most recent refinement in the existing technology to control weeds. The potential benefits from the improved weed control must be weighed against possible increased costs of production and potential for genes that control herbicide tolerance to escape into non-tolerant plant populations. These questions about herbicide resistance are primarily technological and biological. They demonstrate the paucity of information in Weed Science on weed genetics, gene flow, fitness, and other aspects of weed-crop population dynamics. Other questions about HTCs are ethical. They require that we ask who benefits from the technology and what are the economic, ecological, and social consequences of it.

The effect of barley seeding rate and row spacing, and triallate, diclofop, and difenzoquat herbicide rate on barley grain yield and quality, and wild oat control were evaluated in field experiments near Bonners Ferry, Idaho, in 1989 and 1990. The purpose of the study was to develop integrated control strategies for wild oat in spring barley. Barley row spacing (9 and 18 cm) did not affect barley grain yield. Barley grain yield was greatest when barley was seeded at 134 or 201 kg ha–1 compared to 67 kg ha–1. Wild oat control increased as wild oat herbicide rate increased and barley grain yield was greatest when wild oat herbicides were applied. However, barley grain yield was similar when wild oat biomass was reduced by either 65 or 85% by applications of half and full herbicide rates, respectively. Net return was greatest when the half rate of herbicide was applied to 100 wild oat plants per m2 and was greatest when half or full herbicide rates were applied to 290 wild oat plants per m2. Net return increased when the seeding rate was increased to 134 or 201 kg ha–1 when no herbicide was applied and when 290 wild oat plants per m2 were present.

Studies were conducted to determine the response of ‘Jewel’ sweetpotato in propagation beds to DCPA and napropamide. Napropamide at 2.2 and 4.4 kg ha–1 caused slight injury, and reduced plant number and weight when compared with the untreated control. Napropamide at 1.1 kg ha–1 combined with chloramben at 3.3 kg ha–1 was not injurious; plant production was equal to the untreated control, diphenamid at 4.4 kg ha–1, and chloramben at 3.3 kg ha–1. DCPA at 8.3 and 10.0 kg ha–1 caused unacceptable injury and reduced plant number and weight.

The primary aim of seed companies is to provide products that the customer wants to buy, and to sell them at a profit. Future demands for improved cultivars of major field crops will continue to be primarily for those with reliably high yield and desirable quality. Herbicide tolerance will not be a primary determinant in cultivar choice for most customers. Therefore, seed companies probably will move with caution in development of herbicide-tolerant cultivars.

Twenty determinate soybean cultivars were grown in hydroponic solutions to determine differential tolerance to chlorimuron and imazaquin at pH 6, 7, or 8. ‘Epps' exhibited tolerance to chlorimuron at each pH, and to imazaquin except at pH 8. ‘9641 Pioneer’ was highly sensitive to both herbicides at each pH, and ‘Asgrow 5979’ was sensitive to chlorimuron, and to imazaquin except at pH 7. ‘Hutcheson’ was sensitive to chlorimuron at each pH, and imazaquin at pH 6. ‘Asgrow 6785’ was sensitive to chlorimuron at pH 6 and 8, with shoot weight reductions of 31 and 28%, respectively, and ‘Coker 686’ was similarly sensitive at pH 6 and 7. ‘Hartz 6200’ was tolerant to imazaquin at pH 6 and 7, ‘Hartz 6686’ was tolerant at pH 6 and 8, and Coker 686 was tolerant at pH 7 and 8. Coker 686 and 'Sharkey’ were tolerant to chlorimuron at some pH levels, though highly sensitive at other pH levels. ‘Asgrow 5403’ and Coker 686 also had varying tolerance and sensitivity to imazaquin across pH levels. Shoot length and shoot weight were the best indicators of differential cultivar sensitivity when compared with previous field studies.

Field studies were conducted from 1985 to 1989 on a Sharkey clay to examine injury to a semi-dwarf rice cultivar, ‘Lemont’, from triclopyr or triclopyr plus propanil. Triclopyr applied in the booting stage reduced yield two of three years, with the observed yield reduction possibly caused by epinasty of the rice flag leaf. Triclopyr application to three- to four-leaf rice caused hyponasty. Triclopyr did not reduce plant height, seed weight, germination, or total milling yield. Triclopyr plus propanil caused more leaf burn that triclopyr alone, but yields were not reduced compared with the untreated control. This research indicated that triclopyr and triclopyr plus propanil can be used in rice production with the semi-dwarf cultivar, Lemont, with the potential to minimize drift to non-target crops due to the greater flexibility in application timing compared with 2,4-D application.

Development of herbicide-tolerant plants is the focus of considerable research. Some projects aim to increase herbicide use or promote use of particularly environmentally damaging chemicals, and thus may lead to environmental degradation. Other projects aim to develop herbicide-tolerant plants that allow substitution of newer less environmentally damaging chemicals for older more damaging ones. To the extent they divert research dollars from development of other weed control strategies, these projects may also jeopardize environmentally sound weed control. The paper concludes with policy recommendations concerning a) public sector research priorities, b) planting of herbicide-tolerant trees in forests, and c) regulation of herbicide-tolerant crops.

Field experiments were conducted in 1989 and 1990 to evaluate differential soybean cultivar tolerance to chlorimuron and imazaquin applied PPI, as influenced by soil moisture. Natural rainfall was supplemented with irrigation to achieve three moisture regimes: low (nonirrigated), optimum (5 cm wk–1), and excessive (15 cm wk–1). Imazaquin at 140 g ai ha–1 did not adversely affect height or yield of cultivars under any of the moisture regimes. Excessive moisture, regardless of herbicide treatment, reduced height and yield with many of the cultivars. Chlorimuron at 80 g ai ha–1 caused additional plant height reductions of 8 cm or more with ‘Asgrow 5403% ‘Asgrow 5979’, ‘Coker 686’, ‘Asgrow 6785’, ‘Hartz 6686’, and 'Sharkey’ in the excessive moisture regime, and yield was reduced 450 kg ha–1 or more with ‘Hutcheson’, ‘Terra-Vig 515’, Coker 686, Asgrow 6785, and Hartz 6686. Chlorimuron in the optimum moisture regime reduced the height of Coker 686 and ‘Deltapine 566’ 10 and 11 cm, respectively; however, no yield reductions were noted.

Factors affecting the germination and seedling growth of leafflower were evaluated. Germination required exposure to light. Seeds covered with a 1-cm deep layer of pine bark mulch failed to emerge. Maximum seedling development occurred in full exposure to sunlight; shading that reduced light intensity more than 26% was inhibitory. Maximum seed germination (79%) occurred between 25 and 35 C; temperatures outside this range were inhibitory. Germination was strongly influenced by osmotic potential. Osmotic potentials of 0, 304, and 507 kPa resulted in 85, 24 and 14% germination, respectively. PRE applications of either granular formulated oxadiazon at 4.5 kg ha–1, or premixed granular formulated oxyfluorfen + oryzalin at 4.6 + 2.3 kg ha–1, provided a minimum of 85% control. The following POST treatments provided a minimum of 90% control of mature plants: paraquat at 0.21 kg ha–1, glyphosate at 0.56 kg ha–1, oxyfluorfen at 1.12 kg ha–1, and acifluorfen at 2.24 kg ha–1.

The effect of metribuzin at six rates of application was evaluated on four soybean (Glycine max L.) cultivars and on common hempnettle (Galeopsis tetrahit L.) over a three-yr period (1985 to 1987). The cultivars Maple Amber and Baron were susceptible to metribuzin whereas the cultivars Maple Isle and KG-20 were tolerant of metribuzin. Metribuzin caused progressively greater reductions in plant stands and loss in yield in the susceptible cultivars as rate of application increased. Metribuzin at 0.5 kg ha-1 or higher controlled over 90% of common hempnettle.