Bioassays with soybeans and lentils were used to compare the persistence of 2,4,5-T, triclopyr, and picloram in soil after applying 0.038, 0.38, and 3.8 kg ae/ha under field conditions. Soil samples were collected from 1 to 269 days after spraying and were kept frozen until growth room bioassays were conducted. Triclopyr was slightly less persistent than 2,4,5-T, but neither herbicide was biologically active during the next season. At least 90% of picloram disappeared within 7 months, but its biological activity was more persistent than that of either triclopyr or 2,4,5-T. Nine months after treatment, neither lentils nor soybeans could be grown in soil treated with picloram at 3.8 kg/ka. Triclopyr and 2,4-D had smiilar soil thin layer chromatographic mobilities in four different scils. Picloram was significantly more mobile than either triclopyr or 2,4,5-T, primarily due to its lower adsorption in the soils examined.

Common mullein (Verbascum thapsus L. ♯3 VESTH) has an ancient relationship with man. It never has been used for food but traditionally has been respected for its mystical and medicinal powers.

Five perennial cool-season grasses: Kentucky bluegrass, creeping red fescue, tall fescue, orchardgrass, and perennial ryegrass were treated at the 2- to 3-leaf, 3- to 4-leaf, 4- to 6-leaf, and 6- to 7-leaf growth stages with four rates (0, 0.14, 0.28, and 0.56 kg ai/ha) of the butyl ester of fluazifop. Creeping red fescue was not injured by any rate at any growth stage. Reduction in shoot dry weight increased linearly with increasing fluazifop rate for the remaining four species, except for the 6- to 7-leaf stage in Kentucky bluegrass and the 4- to 6-leaf stage in tall fescue and perennial ryegrass. Significant differences between growth stages within each rate varied with species. In general, tolerance increased at the 4- to 6-leaf and 6- to 7-leaf growth stages.

In 1986 and 1987, imazethapyr at 0.11 or 0.14 kg ai/ha and metolachlor plus imazaquin at 1.4 plus 0.16 kg/ha, applied preplant incorporated, controlled greater than 85% of red rice in soybeans. Red rice was controlled similarly by standard herbicide treatments of alachlor at 2.8 kg ai/ha, metolachlor at 2.2 kg ai/ha, and alachlor plus imazaquin at 2.5 plus 0.14 kg ai/ha. Eighty-four percent or more of red rice was controlled with single postemergence herbicide treatments of DPX-Y6202-31 at 0.14 kg ai/ha or imazethapyr at 0.11 kg ai/ha or by sequential postemergence treatment of DPX-Y6202-31 (0.07 plus 0.07 kg ai/ha) or clethodim (0.1 plus 0.1 kg ai/ha). Soybean injury was insignificant, and yields from treated plots were superior or equal to those from untreated plots.

The impact of three till-plant and two weed management systems on weed seed reserves of soil, yearly weed problems, and corn production was assessed under center-pivot irrigation for 3 consecutive years. Annual weeds were controlled in disced, bedded, and strip rotary till-plant systems with a moderate or intensive level of herbicides. Weed seed of seven annual weed species were identified, with common lambsquarters and stinkgrass, comprising 45 and 41%, respectively, of the initial 305 million seed/ha in the upper 25 cm of the soil profile. After the third cropping year, overall decline in total seed number in soil was 45% when averaged over till-plant and weed management systems. Grain yields did not differ between weed management systems, but the disced till-plant system produced 16% less grain than the bedded and strip rotary till-plant systems over 2 yr.

Leafy spurge control with picloram and various 2,4-D formulations was evaluated to determine the optimum treatment combination and carrier volume for aerial application using a microfoil boom. Leafy spurge control was similar when the same herbicide treatments were applied at 94 and 47 L/ha but declined at 23 L/ha. Leafy spurge control was better when similar herbicide treatments were applied with a one-row microfoil nozzle boom compared to a two-row nozzle. Leafy spurge control 12 months after treatment tended to be better with picloram at 0.28 and 0.56 kg ae/ha applied with 2,4-D mixed amine compared to picloram plus 2,4-D dimethylamine or oil-soluble amine formulations during average growing conditions. However, picloram plus 2,4-D oil-soluble amine was the best formulation in dry conditions.

Seedling emergence and seed bank longevity were followed in field experiments with natural populations of common crupina for 4 yr. Emergence the first fall after dissemination was 90 to 98% of all seedlings eventually to emerge from the seedbank. Seedling emergence over time did not differ between plots which either were treated with the potassium salt of picloram or were hand weeded. No viable seed remained in the soil 25 to 26 months after seed production stopped. Five locations in a common crupina infestation undergoing eradication were sampled for seed in the soil. No viable seeds were found during the first year of the eradication, and no intact seeds were found after 4 yr.

Research conducted over 3 yr showed that volunteer Jerusalem artichoke was controlled effectively with clopyralid plus 2,4-D, dicamba plus 2,4-D, or 2,4-D alone applied postemergence at rates which did not injure spring barley. Glyphosate and paraquat applied preemergence to the crop did not reduce the number of Jerusalem artichoke shoots. Jerusalem artichoke which survived or escaped treatment was highly competitive with barley, as 4 to 6 surviving shoots/m2 could reduce seed yield 20%.

Horseweed is a major weed in conservation tillage production systems. Herbicides were evaluated for horseweed control at two growth stages, rosette and 10- to 15-cm tall. Horseweed was controlled at the rosette stage with the 2,4-D ester, 2,4-D amine, dicamba, 2,4-D plus glyphosate, and glyphosate. Higher rates were needed for control at the 10- to 15-cm stage. Paraquat did not effectively control horseweed at any stage.

The loss of metribuzin and ethyl-metribuzin from soil and glass surfaces was studied to determine if volatilization and/or photodegradation could explain inconsistent weed control with these herbicides. In growth chamber experiments, phytotoxicity of ethyl-metribuzin decreased as the time between surface application and initial watering increased. Approximately 50% of the applied metribuzin and ethyl-metribuzin volatilized from soil within 24 h, with an additional 15 to 20% lost during the next 11 days, except about 5% additional ethyl-metribuzin was lost from Chehalis sandy loam. Both herbicides volatilized more rapidly from glass than from soil, with 75 to 90% of the loss occurring within 24 h and as great as 99% loss after 12 days. Loss by photodecomposition from soil or glass surfaces was minimal.

Florida beggarweed germination in laboratory experiments was highest between 21 and 38 C and at osmotic potentials above −0.2 MPa, with complete germination inhibition below −0.8 MPa. Patterns of seedling emergence in the field corresponded to timing and size of rainfall events in relation to the time of soil disturbance. Smaller percentage total seasonal emergence was observed following large rainfall events where soil had not been disturbed compared with plots recently disturbed, and soil disturbance not followed by rainfall did not promote major weed flushes.

Mon 4620 at 2.8 kg ai/ha, paclobutrazol plus mefluidide at 1.1 plus 0.4 kg ai/ha, and flurprimidol plus mefluidide at 1.1 plus 0.4 kg ai/ha were applied on four dates to determine their influence on highly maintained tall fescue turf. Seedhead suppression was good to excellent by Mon 4620 applied March 1 or 18 and by paclobutrazol plus mefluidide and flurprimidol plus mefluidide applied anytime from March 1 until April 1. None of the plant growth regulators (PGRs) suppressed seedheads effectively when applied April 15 when the grass was near the end of the rapid growth cycle and just before seedhead emergence. Vegetative growth of mowed tall fescue was suppressed for 8 weeks in 1987 when PGRs were applied March 1 immediately after full green-up. Application dates were not as important in 1988 as in 1987. Tall fescue was injured the least by Mon 4620 applied in March and by flurprimidol plus mefluidide applied on March 18. Paclobutrazol plus mefluidide injured the turf severely regardless of application date.

A common sunflower isolate of Alternaria helianthi collected near Stoneville, MS, was pathogenic to cultivated sunflower and common cocklebur. Soybean, cotton, rice, grain sorghum, corn, wheat, and 22 other weed and crop species/varieties in nine botanical families showed no response or only minor symptoms. Therefore, further research is warranted to determine the potential of A. helianthi as a biocontrol agent against common cocklebur in geographic areas where sunflower is not a crop.

Field experiments were established on a loamy fine sand to evaluate weed control in a conservation tillage system where cotton was planted into sorghum stubble. Preemergence herbicides for Palmer amaranth and volunteer sorghum control in cotton included methazole, dipropetryn, prometryn, metolachlor, and metolachlor plus dipropetryn or prometryn. Dipropetryn controlled both weeds without crop injury. Above 1.7 kg ai/ha, methazole provided effective control but injured the crop. Prometryn was less effective than dipropetryn or methazole against Palmer amaranth and controlled <40% volunteer sorghum. Metolachlor unacceptably injured cotton. Cotton yields were excellent when both weeds were controlled.