Carbonate glasses can be formed routinely in the system K2CO3–MgCO3. The enthalpy of formation for one such 0.55K2CO3–0.45MgCO3 glass was determined at 298 K to be 115.00 ± 1.21 kJ/mol by drop solution calorimetry in molten sodium molybdate (3Na2O·MoO3) at 975 K. The corresponding heat of formation from oxides at 298 K was −261.12 ± 3.02 kJ/mol. This ternary glass is shown to be slightly metastable with respect to binary crystalline components (K2CO3 and MgCO3) and may be further stabilized by entropy terms arising from cation disorder and carbonate group distortions. This high degree of disorder is confirmed by 13C MAS NMR measurement of the average chemical shift tensor values, which show asymmetry of the carbonate anion to be significantly larger than previously reported values. Molecular dynamics simulations show that the structure of this carbonate glass reflects the strong interaction between the oxygen atoms in distorted carbonate anions and potassium cations.

Natural living conductive biofilms transport electrons between electrodes and cells, as well as among cells fixed within the film, catalyzing an array of reactions from acetate oxidation to CO2 reduction. Synthetic biology offers tools to modify or improve electron transport through biofilms, creating a new class of engineered living conductive materials. Engineered living conductive materials could be used in a range of applications for which traditional conducting polymers are not appropriate, including improved catalytic coatings for microbial fuel-cell electrodes, self-powered sensors for austere environments, and next-generation living components of bioelectronic devices that interact with the human microbiome.

Seven half-day regional listening sessions were held between December 2016 and April 2017 with groups of diverse stakeholders on the issues and potential solutions for herbicide-resistance management. The objective of the listening sessions was to connect with stakeholders and hear their challenges and recommendations for addressing herbicide resistance. The coordinating team hired Strategic Conservation Solutions, LLC, to facilitate all the sessions. They and the coordinating team used in-person meetings, teleconferences, and email to communicate and coordinate the activities leading up to each regional listening session. The agenda was the same across all sessions and included small-group discussions followed by reporting to the full group for discussion. The planning process was the same across all the sessions, although the selection of venue, time of day, and stakeholder participants differed to accommodate the differences among regions. The listening-session format required a great deal of work and flexibility on the part of the coordinating team and regional coordinators. Overall, the participant evaluations from the sessions were positive, with participants expressing appreciation that they were asked for their thoughts on the subject of herbicide resistance. This paper details the methods and processes used to conduct these regional listening sessions and provides an assessment of the strengths and limitations of those processes.

Herbicide resistance is ‘wicked’ in nature; therefore, results of the many educational efforts to encourage diversification of weed control practices in the United States have been mixed. It is clear that we do not sufficiently understand the totality of the grassroots obstacles, concerns, challenges, and specific solutions needed for varied crop production systems. Weed management issues and solutions vary with such variables as management styles, regions, cropping systems, and available or affordable technologies. Therefore, to help the weed science community better understand the needs and ideas of those directly dealing with herbicide resistance, seven half-day regional listening sessions were held across the United States between December 2016 and April 2017 with groups of diverse stakeholders on the issues and potential solutions for herbicide resistance management. The major goals of the sessions were to gain an understanding of stakeholders and their goals and concerns related to herbicide resistance management, to become familiar with regional differences, and to identify decision maker needs to address herbicide resistance. The messages shared by listening-session participants could be summarized by six themes: we need new herbicides; there is no need for more regulation; there is a need for more education, especially for others who were not present; diversity is hard; the agricultural economy makes it difficult to make changes; and we are aware of herbicide resistance but are managing it. The authors concluded that more work is needed to bring a community-wide, interdisciplinary approach to understanding the complexity of managing weeds within the context of the whole farm operation and for communicating the need to address herbicide resistance.

This paper presents a 27Al and 29Si MAS NMR study of K-feldspars and demonstrates that the spectra are sensitive to variations in the state of Al,Si order. For synthetically annealed samples, the results are in agreement with previous IR spectroscopy (Harris et al., 1989) and demonstrate that Al,Si rearrangement continues after the samples have become monoclinic as determined by powder XRD. NMR methods provide a significantly improved picture of the state of local Al,Si order in such samples. For triclinic samples, measures of the state of Al,Si order (M1 and M2 of 27Al spectra and M2 of 29Si spectra) correlate well with site occupancies determined by powder XRD, but for the monoclinic samples the NMR parameters continue to change whereas the XRD parameters do not. Interpretations based on the NMR results for the synthetically disordered samples are consistent with 1-step disordering, as observed by XRD. 27Al and 29Si MAS NMR is likely to be a useful tool for probing the state of local Al,Si order in a wide variety of natural samples.

A growth chamber study was conducted to evaluate the effects of temperature and soil moisture on the absorption and translocation of the new sulfonylurea herbicide, MON 37500, in wheat, jointed goatgrass, wild oat, and downy brome. Treatment combinations of temperatures—25/23, 15/13, and 5/3 C—and soil moistures of one-third, two-thirds, and full field capacities were assigned to the germinated plants. Radiolabeled MON 37500 was applied to the second leaf of plants at the three-leaf stage. The plants were then harvested at 6, 24, and 96 h after application. The plants absorbed MON 37500 in the greatest quantity during the first 6 h; however, absorption did continue to increase over time. Absorption was highest in wheat and lowest in wild oat. Temperature influenced absorption, while soil moisture status appeared to have no effect. Translocation of radiolabeled material out of the treated leaf increased over time; however, 90 to 97% of absorbed radioactivity remained in the treated leaf 96 h after treatment. Temperature affected translocation differently in each species, but increasing soil moisture increased translocation.

Kochia is a troublesome weed throughout the western United States. Although glyphosate effectively controls kochia, poor control was observed in several no-till fields in Kansas. The objectives of this research were to evaluate kochia populations response to glyphosate and examine the mechanism that causes differential response to glyphosate. Glyphosate was applied at 0, 54, 109, 218, 435, 870, 1305, 1740, 3480, and 5220 g ae ha−1 on 10 kochia populations. In general, kochia populations differed in their response to glyphosate. At 21 d after treatment, injury from glyphosate applied at 870 g ha−1 range from 4 to 91%. In addition, glyphosate rate required to cause 50% visible injury (GR50) ranged from 470 to 2149 g ha−1. Differences in glyphosate absorption and translocation and kochia mineral content were not sufficient to explain differential kochia response to glyphosate.

Spray application of 24 and 46 g ha−1 MON 37500 was used in efficacy studies, and vacuum infiltration or droplet application of radiolabeled MON 37500 was used in metabolism studies to evaluate temperature and soil moisture on MON 37500 efficacy and metabolism. Day/night temperatures before vs. after application of MON 37500 of 25/23 vs. 25/23, 25/23 vs. 5/3, 5/3 vs. 25/23, and 5/3 vs. 5/3 C were evaluated for the efficacy study, whereas day/night temperatures of 5/3 and 25/23 C were used for the metabolism study. Soil moisture of one-third and full pot capacities was evaluated for both studies. No Triticum aestivum injury was observed at the different temperatures or soil moistures because of rapid metabolism of MON 37500 by T. aestivum. Weed control was greater when the temperature after application was 25/23 C or soil moisture was at full pot capacity than when the temperature was at 5/3 C after application or soil moisture was at one-third pot capacity. Susceptibility to MON 37500 was greatest for Bromus tectorum, moderate for Avena fatua, and least for Aegilops cylindrica. This pattern of susceptibility for the weed species was related to their ability to metabolize MON 37500. Aegilops cylindrica metabolized more MON 37500 in the first 24 h than did A. fatua, whereas B. tectorum metabolized the least MON 37500. Cool air temperatures decreased MON 37500 metabolism in all species, whereas soil moisture had no effect.

Pyroxasulfone (KIH-485) is a seedling growth-inhibiting herbicide developed by Kumiai America that has the potential to control weeds in sunflower. However, little is known about how this herbicide will interact with various soil types and environments when combined with sulfentrazone. The objective of this research was to evaluate sunflower injury and weed control with pyroxasulfone applied with and without sulfentrazone across the Great Plains sunflower production area. A multisite study was initiated in spring 2007 to evaluate sunflower response to pyroxasulfone applied PRE at 0, 167, 208, or 333 g ai ha−1. In 2008, pyroxasulfone was applied alone and in tank mixture with sulfentrazone. In 2007, no sunflower injury was observed with any rate of pyroxasulfone at any location except Highmore, SD, where sunflower injury was 17%, 4 wk after treatment (WAT) with 333 g ha−1. In 2008, sunflower injury ranged from 0 to 4% for all treatments. Adding sulfentrazone did not increase injury. Sunflower yield was only reduced in treatments in which weeds were not effectively controlled. These treatments included the untreated control and pyroxasulfone at 167 g ha−1. Sunflower yield did not differ among the other treatments of pyroxasulfone or sulfentrazone applied alone or in combination. The addition of sulfentrazone to pyroxasulfone improved control of foxtail barley, prostrate pigweed, wild buckwheat, Palmer amaranth, and marshelder, but not large crabgrass or green foxtail. The combination of pyroxasulfone and sulfentrazone did not reduce control of any of the weeds evaluated.

The evolution of glyphosate resistance in weedy species places an environmentally benign herbicide in peril. The first report of a dicot plant with evolved glyphosate resistance was horseweed, which occurred in 2001. Since then, several species have evolved glyphosate resistance and genomic information about nontarget resistance mechanisms in any of them ranges from none to little. Here, we report a study combining iGentifier transcriptome analysis, cDNA sequencing, and a heterologous microarray analysis to explore potential molecular and transcriptomic mechanisms of nontarget glyphosate resistance of horseweed. The results indicate that similar molecular mechanisms might exist for nontarget herbicide resistance across multiple resistant plants from different locations, even though resistance among these resistant plants likely evolved independently and available evidence suggests resistance has evolved at least four separate times. In addition, both the microarray and sequence analyses identified non–target-site resistance candidate genes for follow-on functional genomics analysis.

Field experiments were conducted in grain sorghum at five locations in Kansas in 2009 and 2010, to evaluate the efficacy and crop safety of early- to mid-POST (EMPOST) and late-POST (LPOST) applications of premixed pyrasulfotole and bromoxynil (PYRA&BROM) in tank mix combinations with atrazine or atrazine plus 2,4-D ester or dicamba compared to bromoxynil plus atrazine. PYRA&BROM at 244 or 300 g ai ha−1 plus atrazine at 560 g ai ha−1 applied EMPOST controlled pigweed species (Palmer amaranth, tumble pigweed, and redroot pigweed), kochia, velvetleaf, common sunflower, ivyleaf morningglory, and common lambsquarters 93% or greater. Puncturevine control among three locations ranged from 85 to 99%. Control of most weed species was not improved by increasing PYRA&BROM rate from 244 to 300 g ha−1 or by tank mixing 2,4-D or dicamba with PYRA&BROM plus atrazine. However, ivyleaf morningglory control was improved at the LPOST timing by adding 2,4-D or dicamba at 140 g ae ha−1. In no instance did any PYRA&BROM treatment provide greater weed control than bromoxynil plus atrazine at 281 + 560 g ha−1 when applied EMPOST, but in most instances PYRA&BROM treatments were more effective than bromoxynil plus atrazine when applied LPOST. Generally, PYRA&BROM treatments were more effective when applied EMPOST than LPOST, especially when 2,4-D or dicamba was added. PYRA&BROM plus atrazine treatments caused foliar bleaching in sorghum within 7 ± 3 d after treatment, but recovery was complete within 3 to 4 wk and grain yields were not reduced. Tank mixing dicamba with PYRA&BROM and atrazine occasionally reduced visible crop response compared to PYRA&BROM plus atrazine. Our results indicate that PYRA&BROM plus atrazine with or without 2,4-D or dicamba selectively controls several troublesome broadleaf weeds in grain sorghum. Foliar bleaching of sorghum leaves can occur but the symptoms are transient, and grain yields are not likely to be reduced.

Field experiments were conducted at Belleville, Colby, Hays, Hesston, Garden City, and Manhattan, KS, to determine grain sorghum response to POST application of mesotrione at three application timings. Mesotrione was applied at 52, 105, 157, and 210 g ai/ha in combination with 280 g ai/ha atrazine to grain sorghum at heights of 5 to 8, 15 to 20, and 30 cm, which correspond to early POST (EPOST), mid-POST (MPOST), and late POST (LPOST), respectively. All mesotrione rates caused injury at all application timings. Overall, grain sorghum injury from mesotrione was greatest at 1 wk after treatment (WAT); plants partially recovered from injury by 4 WAT. Mesotrione applied EPOST injured grain sorghum more than when applied at MPOST and LPOST timings. The EPOST application injured grain sorghum 19 to 88%, whereas injury from MPOST and LPOST application was 1 to 66% and 0 to 69%, respectively, depending on rate. Mesotrione injury was least at Belleville and most at the Hesston and Garden City (irrigated) sites regardless of growth stage. Correlation coefficient analyses indicated that observed mesotrione injury symptoms were not well correlated with grain sorghum yield; thus, mesotrione injury to grain sorghum did not influence grain yield. However, initial grain sorghum injury was severe, and this will likely be a major concern to producers.

Field studies conducted from 2005 to 2007 in Kansas compared the effects of KIH-485 and flufenacet to acetochlor and s-metolachlor applied PRE in grain sorghum. All treatments were combined with 1.12 kg/ha of atrazine for broadleaf weed control. KIH-485 and flufenacet, each at one time (1×) and two times (2×) the labeled rates, controlled large crabgrass 55 to 76% in 2005 and 94% or more in 2006 and 2007. In 2005, all herbicides controlled shattercane less than 20%, and only KIH-485 at the 2× rate controlled shattercane more than 70% in 2006 and 2007. Averaged over herbicides, green foxtail was controlled 98% in 2005, 77% in 2006, and 79% in 2007. Most herbicides controlled foxtail 86% or more when averaged over experiments, however, s-metolachlor at 1×, flufenacet at either rate, or atrazine alone did not. Sorghum was not stunted with KIH-485 or flufenacet in two of seven experiments. However, sorghum growth was reduced 23 to 54% with the 2× rates of KIH-485, flufenacet, or acetochlor in four experiments. Compared to the weed free control, sorghum stand establishment was reduced 18% with the 2× rate of flufenacet at Colby in 2006. At Hays in 2005, stand reductions occurred with acetochlor or KIH-485 at the 2× rates and either rate of flufenacet. Averaged over experiments, grain yields were reduced 9 and 10% with KIH-485 and flufenacet at the 2× rates, respectively. Where precipitation was greatest during the 2 wk following herbicide application, weed control was the best with these herbicides, but sorghum injury was also greatest.