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Vol. 51—1997 - NorthEastern Weed Science Society

Vol. 51—1997 - NorthEastern Weed Science Society

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12<br />

S ILSOLARIZATIONPSAWEEDMANAGEMENTTOOL IN NEW ENGLAND<br />

M.J.Eisel<br />

ABSTRACT<br />

Soi solarizationmayfit intoa few specific"niches"in crop productionin New England,despite<br />

the facttha our soiltemperaturesandsunlightlevelsaregenerallylower thanthoseinthe partsof the<br />

world in w ichsolarizationisregularlypracticed.Experimentswere conductedover a five-year<br />

periodto terminethe suitabilityof soilsolarizationasatool for weed managementin<br />

Massach tts. Maximumsoiltemperaturerecordedata O.S-inchdepthwas 142F,at one inch 127<br />

F,at two in s 12SF,andatthree inchesI 18F.<strong>Weed</strong> seedlingemergencefrom soilstakenfrom<br />

solarizedpi varied,butwassignificantlylowerthanin non-solarizedplotsin allbutone experiment.<br />

Thisred on in emergencewasfoundto persisto the followingspring.Someweed emergence<br />

occurred, ever, in nearlyallsamplestakenfrom solarizedsoil.Inhibitionof shootgrowthof<br />

Canadathi e {O'rsiumarvense(L)Scop.)wasfoundinonetrial, but plot areaswere quickly<br />

reinvaded y rhizomesfrom outsidethe plot areathe followingseason.Solarizationhaspotentialto<br />

reduce d emergencefrom the top layerof soil,but isnot likelyto reliablyproducethe control<br />

ratesneed d to avoidcrop lossesdueto weed interference.However,soilsolarizationmaybe useful<br />

in reducingseedbanksor in servingasanadjuncto otherweed managementmethodsfor growers<br />

with weed roblemswhicharedifficulto controlin otherways.<br />

'Extension dueator,<strong>Weed</strong> IPM,Dept. PlantandSoil<strong>Science</strong>s,Universityof Massachusetts, Amherst,<br />

MAOlD03

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