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Vol. 51—1997 - NorthEastern Weed Science Society

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15<br />

EFFECTOF rREPLANT TILLAGEANDNICOSULFURONON WIRESTEMMUHLY<br />

CONTROLIN CORN<br />

. D. D. Lingenfelterand W. S. Curran'<br />

, ABSTRACf<br />

Wirestemjnuhly I (Muhlenberaiafrondosa (Poir.)Fernald)is a warm season,perennial<br />

grassspeciesthat]is becominga problemin conservationtillagesystems. Effectiveprograms<br />

currentlydo not existfor managingwirestemmuhlyin reduced-tillagecom. Therefore,the<br />

followingresearchwas designedto evaluatepreplanttillagewithandwithoutnicosulfuronfor<br />

wirestemmuhly ~ontrol in com (Zea J.lUlnL.).<br />

In 1994and 1995,field studieswereconductedin centralPennsylvaniaat locationswith<br />

establishedwires~.m muhlypopulations. Springprimarypreplanttillagetreatmentswere<br />

moldboardplow, chisel plow, heavydisk, and no-till. Secondarytillagewas performedwhere<br />

necessaryto ob an appropriateseedbed. Com was plantedin midto late Mayand followed<br />

with a burndow ! RE treatmentfor annualweed control. Nicosulfuronat 0.031Ib ailAplus<br />

0.25% v/v nonionicsurfactantwas appliedpostemergencewhenwirestemmuhlywas 12to 18<br />

inchestall and cop· was less than 24 inchestall (V4-V5stage). A split-plotdesignwiththree<br />

replicationswas in this study. The herbicidewas appliedwith a CO 2-backpack sprayerthat<br />

delivered20 gpa.<br />

End of season resultsfrom the studyshowedthat nicosulfuronin combinationwith<br />

moldboardPlow,tchiselplow, or heavydisk treatmentsprovidedgreaterthan92% controlof<br />

wirestemmuhly. Moldboardplow, chiselplow,and disk withouta POST treatmentwereless<br />

effective,only pr viding45 to 60% control. The year followingtillageandherbicideapplication,<br />

wirestemmuhlycontrolrangedfrom 89 to 98% for all tillagesystemsthatincludednicosulfuron.<br />

Tillagetreatment' withoutthe POSTherbicideprovidedlessthan45%control. In general,control<br />

in treatmentsthat includednicosulfuronwas betterthanfor treatmentswithoutthe herbicide.<br />

In 1994, : rn grain yield was80 bulA for no-tillwithoutnicosulfuronand 90 bulA with<br />

the herbicidetreatment, All othertreatments,exceptchiselplowand no POSTherbicide,yielded<br />

100to 117bulAi Com yieldsfrom the 1995season,a droughtyear, rangedfrom 51 to 75 bulA.<br />

None of the comiination treatmentsdiffered.<br />

In summary,these resultsshow thatwirestemmuhlycan be moreeffectivelymanaged<br />

whena combinadonof controlmeasuresare used. In general,springprimarytillagefollowedby<br />

an applicationo~nicosulfuron was moreeffectivethantillageor herbicidealone. Com yieldwas<br />

not greatlyaffec by the presenceof wirestemmuhly,althoughcompetitiveindicesfor wirestem<br />

muhlyin com ha e not yet been studiedor established. For areaswheretillageis not feasible,<br />

nicosulfuronwill! suppressthe wirestemmuhlyuntiladditionalcontrolmeasurescan be<br />

accomplishedin lothercrops (e.g., soybeans).<br />

I<br />

1 Ext. Asst. and soc. Prof. of <strong>Weed</strong> <strong>Science</strong>,Dept of Agronomy,The PennsylvaniaState<br />

University,Uni ersity Park, PA 16802

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