Nicosulfuron and rimsulfuron are two selective postemergence sulfonylurea herbicides commercialized, respectively, in Europe and USA for weed control in maize. They are under development in Canada as a 1:1 premix (DPX-79406). The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of these herbicides and their interactions on acetolactate synthase (ALS) activity of selected annual weed species. Each nicosulfuron and rimsulfuron treatment used over a concentration range of 0.01 to 10 μM produced a distinct pattern of ALS inhibition for common ragweed, proso millet, redroot pigweed, smooth crabgrass, and wild oats. Based on ALS specific activity, I50 values for each herbicide differed slightly among the five weed species. However, rimsulfuron was much more inhibitory to ALS than was nicosulfuron. Common ragweed ALS activity increased linearly from 30 to 120 min, even in the continual presence of both herbicides in the assay buffer. This suggests the reversibility of their interaction with ALS. Delaying nicosulfuron (1 μM) or rimsulfuron (0.1 μM) additions to the assay buffer, after initiating the reaction with the enzyme, resulted in a quadratic increase of common ragweed ALS activity. In the continual presence of 0.1 μM of rimsulfuron, addition of 0.1 or 1 μM nicosulfuron did not affect ALS activity any further. However, in the continual presence of 0.1 μM of nicosulfuron, delaying rimsulfuron addition caused an increase in ALS activity. This increase was lower in the presence of 1 μM of nicosulfuron. Inhibition of common ragweed ALS by nicosulfuron and rimsulfuron was not independent of each other, suggesting some competition between the two herbicides for a common binding site on ALS.

Whole plant studies were conducted to examine the effects of glyphosate on components of carbon balance, transpiration, and biomass partitioning of wheat plants grown in Olton sandy clay loam soil and in a well-aerated fritted clay medium under controlled environmental conditions. Well-irrigated plants were transferred from a nursery room into a test chamber about 48 d after planting. Two to five days later, 12 to 42 ml of a glyphosate solution with a concentration of 480 mg ai L–1 were sprayed until full coverage of the foliage. Environmental conditions in the chamber were air temperature 25 C, dew point 18 C, windspeed 1.1 m s–1, and PPFD 1500 mmol m–2 s–1 (at the top of the foliage) for 12 h daily. Glyphosate treatment resulted in destruction of the root system, as determined at the end of the tests, and at the start of tests using companion plants. Plants grown in soil lost 0.53 kg kg–1 of the initial root mass, while this loss was 0.38 kg kg–1 in plants grown in fritted clay. Glyphosate treatment rapidly inhibited daily rates of gross carbon uptake and transpiration of wheat plants grown in both media. Effects occurred more than twice as rapidly in plants grown in soil as in fritted day. Similarity in the patterns of inhibition of gross carbon uptake and transpiration suggests that glyphosate may also affect leaf stomata. After applying glyphosate, daily rates of carbon loss increased for 3 d in soil-grown plants but remained almost constant for 10 d in plants grown in fritted clay; thereafter, the rates of carbon loss declined. The early increase or the constancy of carbon loss observed after applying glyphosate was related to catabolic processes occurring in roots.

The effect of chlorotoluron on different slender foxtail populations that survived normal agricultural rates of this herbicide (2.5 to 3.5 kg ai ha–1) was investigated under controlled laboratory conditions. Among five populations tested, two had tolerance for the herbicide. The ED50 values for these biotypes ranged from 0.33 to 2.43 kg ha–1. Assays with radiolabeled 14C-chlorotoluron indicated similar absorption and translocation of the herbicide between susceptible and resistant biotypes. Chlorophyll fluorescence and Hill reaction analysis seem to support the view that the mechanism of resistance of one biotype to the herbicide is due to degradation/detoxification rather than to modification of the target site, although compartmentation processes cannot be ruled out. This resistant biotype had high tolerance to other photosynthetic inhibiting phenylureas, including linuron, chlorbromuron, diuron, monolinuron, and neburon.

Imazamethabenz, an acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS)-inhibiting herbicide, was applied at a sublethal rate (200 g ai ha–1) to foliage of greenhouse-grown wild oat plants at the 2-leaf stage without tillers. Main shoot tissues were sampled 1 to 2 wk after imazamethabenz treatment and prepared for light microscopic examination. Histological observations showed that imazamethabenz treatment did not produce drastic changes on leaf structures but did affect chloroplast integrity of fully expanded 2nd leaf and inhibited differentiation of the young 3rd leaf 1 wk after application. The internode length and the number of cells in internodes of the herbicide-treated main stem were greatly reduced, presumably due to the inhibition by imazamethabenz of intercalary meristem cell division in early stages of internode elongation. One week after imazamethabenz application, histochemical studies revealed an increased accumulation of starch granules in chloroplasts of the 2nd leaf but reduced starch levels in the main stem. This confirmed the hypothesis that AHAS inhibitors affected phloem transport of photosynthates.

A study under glasshouse conditions determined the effect of germination stimulants, potassium nitrate and ethephon, on emergence of several pure lines of wild oat from soil. Effect of the two chemicals on stimulating emergence was variable and no synergism noted when used together. Examination of exhumed seed showed that these treatments reduced seed viability. By counting the number of dead and adding to those that emerged, total seed removed from the soil was obtained. All treatments removed seed from the soil seedbank, especially when seed was old, near the soil surface, was primary seed, or from low or intermediate dormancy lines. However, because of the insensitivity of a large proportion of the seed and the high rates required it is unlikely that either potassium nitrate or ethephon has practical use for field application.

Studies were conducted to determine the effects of scarification, temperature, osmotic potential, and pH on seed germination of buffalo gourd and to examine seedling emergence and establishment. Mechanical and chemical scarification did not increase germination compared to non-scarified seed. Seed germinated at constant temperatures in the dark from 15 to 37 C with optimum germination at 25 C. As osmotic potentials became more negative from −0.1 to −0.8 MPa, germination decreased from 77 to 53%. Germination increased from 15% at pH 2.2 to 90% at pH 8. Seedlings were able to emerge from depths as great as 12 cm, and plants younger than 19 d were not able to sprout from the roots when the shoots were removed.

Studies were conducted from 1987 to 1990 to measure the dynamics of sicklepod established at subeconomic threshold populations in a peanut-cotton-corn cropping system. The experimental site had no native populations of sicklepod prior to initiation of the study. Main plots were crops in the rotation sequence plus continuous summer fallow (no crop). Subplots were: sicklepod established in the initial year of the study, sicklepod established every year of the study, and no sicklepod. Sicklepod was established at subeconomic threshold densities to simulate weed survival and seed production in fields where economic thresholds were the basis for weed management decisions. Sicklepod growing alone in fallow plots produced more seed per plant, resulting in significantly more seedlings throughout the study than sicklepod growing with crops. Sicklepod growing in corn produced the fewest seed per plant. Seed produced from subeconomic threshold densities established only in the first year caused 7-, 21-, and 20-fold increases in sicklepod populations during the next three seasons compared to the nontreated control.

Rigid ryegrass population VLR69 has become resistant to nine classes of herbicides after 21 yr of exposure to five herbicides in five different chemical classes. The population was exposed to diuron in 17 seasons and is resistant to diuron (4 fold) and chlorotoluron (8 fold) when compared with a reference susceptible population (VLR1). VLR69 had six seasons of exposure to chlorsulfuron and exhibits a high level of resistance to chlorsulfuron (> 20 fold) and triasulfuron (> 25 fold) and a lesser change in sensitivity to sulfometuron (7 fold); however, 4% of the population has a high level of resistance to sulfometuron. Resistance to atrazine (5 fold), simazine (6 fold), and ametryn (10 fold) was observed after five seasons of exposure to atrazine. There is a high level of resistance to all aryloxyphenoxypropionate herbicides after only two exposures to diclofop eight generations prior to testing the population. The population was cross-resistant to tralkoxydim (> 9.5 fold) and sethoxydim (1.8 fold). There was a small change in sensitivity to paraquat (1.4 fold) after three generations of exposure. The population displayed cross-resistance to: imazaquin (7 fold), imazapyr (2.5 fold), metribuzin (8.7 fold), and metolachlor (2 fold) but was susceptible to oxyfluorfen and dinitroaniline herbicides. There was also a small shift in sensitivity to tridiphane (1.6 fold).

Genetic variation of morphological and phenological characters of yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus L.) from California was investigated and compared with isozyme data from the same populations. The importance of collection location, individual genotype, and isozyme genotype to phenotypic characteristics was evaluated. Analyses were conducted on 20 individuals collected from each of 10 widely separated populations in California. Replicate plants were started by tubers, grown in pots buried outdoors, and measured during the period from planting through flowering. Results showed that yellow nutsedge is variable across its range in California in all measured traits, including days to sprouting and flowering, height, rachis number and length, aboveground biomass, tuber weight, number of rays, ray length, number of spikelets per ray, as well as spikelet length and width. Population (collection location) was a larger variance component than genotype (individuals over all locations). As found in isozyme analysis, relatively more variation was found among than within populations, typical of clonally reproducing species. Overall, more variation was found in quantitative traits than in isozymes. The level of variation, based on coefficients of variation for each character and population, was similar within populations and not clearly related to cropping history or climate at each site. The two most common isozyme genotypes in the collection differed in four characters: date of emergence, weight of 10 tubers, rachis number, and mean ray length, which may represent different adaptive responses to cultural practices. These results indicate that isozymes do not reflect the high level of genetic and adaptive diversity of yellow nutsedge. Factors that are likely to determine the patterns of variation in this species include breeding system (vegetative reproduction), founder effects, polyploidy, and homogeneity of the agricultural environmental.

Field experiments were conducted at Vegreville, Alberta, in 1990, 1991, and 1992 to investigate the influence of canola plant density and row spacing (1991 and 1992 only) on interference from Tartary buckwheat. Nonlinear regression equations incorporating both canola and Tartary buckwheat density provided good descriptions of the data. Parameter estimates for both weed and crop density were significant (P < 0.05) but did not differ between row spacings. Where no Tartary buckwheat plants were present, canola yield was little affected by canola plant density. At a given Tartary buckwheat density, canola seed yield increased as canola plant density increased, while Tartary buckwheat shoot weight and seed yield decreased. None of the factors significantly affected canola 1000-seed weight, or oil or protein levels in the canola seed. The results suggest that seeding canola to achieve a density of approximately 200 plants m–2 will significantly reduce the impact of weeds on canola yield, as well as reduce weed biomass and seed yield.

Seeds of fringed sage were collected in four different years in the Northern Mixed Prairie and placed in sealed vials in the field for up to 5 yr. The seeds were exhumed monthly and incubated at 10 or 20 C in light or darkness. Germination was greater at 10 than 20 C and greater in light than darkness. The overriding influences of light and temperature generally decreased as seeds aged. No well-defined dormancy/nondormancy or conditional dormancy/nondormancy cycles were revealed. Longevity of seeds varied among collections, ranging from 3½ to more than 5 yr. Patterns in germination of different collections were similar when they experienced the same annual changes in temperatures, indicating that germination of previously buried seeds of fringed sage was regulated by temperature. This regulating effect varied among years of storage; germination either increased or decreased with increasing temperatures, or was not affected. Results suggest that fringed sage seeds can germinate and emerge anytime during the growing season if temperature and moisture conditions are suitable. Continuous germination may enable fringed sage to occupy safe sites as they develop over time.

Greenhouse studies were conducted to determine the response of purple and yellow nutsedge to selective placement of 5 cm of soil treated with AC 263,222 above and/or below nutsedge tubers. AC 263,222 applied early POST (EPOST) or POST at 71 g ai ha-1 as a foliar, soil, or foliar + soil application also was evaluated. AC 263,222 applied below nutsedge tubers did not reduce purple or yellow nutsedge shoot number, shoot dry weight, shoot regrowth dry weight, or root-tuber dry weight. However, when it was applied above purple nutsedge tubers, shoot dry weight was reduced; and when it was applied above yellow nutsedge tubers, shoot dry weight and root dry weight were reduced. AC 263,222 applied 5 cm above + 5 cm below purple nutsedge tubers reduced shoot number, shoot dry weight, shoot regrowth dry weight, and root dry weight to 9, 4, 10, and 16% of the control, respectively, in purple nutsedge and to 23, 16, 9, and 15% of the control, respectively, in yellow nutsedge. AC 263,222 applied EPOST or POST reduced shoot dry weight, shoot regrowth dry weight, and root dry weight of purple nutsedge to less than or equal to 11, 7, and 27% of the control, respectively, and to less than or equal to 10, 16, and 29% of the control, respectively, for yellow nutsedge with no differences between application methods. The foliar and soil activity of AC 263,222 for purple and yellow nutsedge control provides an advantage over currently registered peanut herbicides.

The combined influence of plant competition and defoliation on development of Canada thistle was investigated in a 2-yr field study. Plant competition was induced by seeding tall fescue and crown vetch. Artificial defoliation was used to simulate various levels of leaf removal by insects. Both defoliation and induced competition reduced biomass of Canada thistle but their impact varied with environmental conditions. Defoliation had a greater detrimental influence than induced competition on thistle biomass in a dry year when growth of the plant competitors was suppressed. In a wet year, induced competition was more important in suppressing Canada thistle than defoliation, and moderate levels of defoliation (25%), applied once when the thistles were 12 to 15 cm in diam, stimulated root weight within the top 20 cm of soil. Reduction in thistle biomass increased with level of defoliation and was greatest when defoliation was applied repeatedly at 14-d intervals in the presence of induced competition. Crown vetch showed very little growth in one season and tall fescue was the primary source of competition for the thistles. The results confirm the hypothesis that combined stresses can substantially reduce biomass development of Canada thistle plants.

Research was conducted to determine the effect of starch encapsulation on soil dissipation and weed control with alachlor, metolachlor, and atrazine on an Estherville sandy loam in the field. Starch encapsulation increased persistence of alachlor in the surface 15 cm of soil compared to the emulsifiable concentrate formulation during the first 60 d after treatment More alachlor was detected 30 to 75 cm deep with emulsifiable concentrate than the starch-encapsulated formulation 30 d after treatment. Little alachlor was detected below 15 cm thereafter. Starch encapsulation also increased persistence of metolachlor in the surface 15 cm, but reduced concentrations at 15 to 30 cm compared to the emulsifiable concentrate 30 d after treatment. By 120 and 340 d after treatment, metolachlor concentrations at 15 to 30 cm were greater with starch-encapsulated than emulsifiable concentrate formulation. Starch encapsulation greatly increased atrazine persistence in the surface 15 cm compared to the dry flowable formulation. Although encapsulation increased atrazine concentration in the surface 15 cm, it reduced the concentration below 15 cm compared to the dry flowable formulation 30 and 60 d after treatment However, by 120 and 340 d after treatment, starch encapsulation often resulted in greater atrazine concentrations below 15 cm than the dry flowable formulation. Control of green foxtail and redroot pigweed with starch-encapsulated herbicides was similar or superior to the commercial formulations.

The influence of moisture stress intensity and duration, as well as tank mixtures with pendimethalin, which mitigated the antagonistic effects of drought, on fenoxaprop efficacy were evaluated. In growth chamber tests, specific soil matric potential (Ψm) levels of −0.01 to −1 MPa were imposed and maintained using a polyethylene glycol semipermeable membrane system. Moisture stress was alleviated by irrigation 48 or 96 h after herbicide treatment. Fenoxaprop efficacy was influenced by moisture stress intensity, posttreatment stress duration, and application rate. Under conditions of mild stress (Ψ ≥ −0.2 MPa), both increased application rate and irrigation 48 h after treatment alleviated the effects of drought on fenoxaprop efficacy. Under moderate stress (Ψm = −4.4 MPa), the antagonistic effects of drought were alleviated by a combination of increased rate and irrigation 48 h after treatment However, under more severe stress (Ψm ≤ −0.8 MPa), irrigation coupled with increased rate did not increase crabgrass control above 50%. Where irrigation within 48 h of treatment is not feasible, tank mixes of fenoxaprop with pendimethalin were shown to enhance smooth crabgrass control. Field lysimeter tests indicated that under moisture stress, Ψm of −0.7 MPa, smooth crabgrass shoot dry weight was reduced 65 to 94% with tank-mix combinations of ≥ 0.27 kg ai ha−1 fenoxaprop plus ≥ 2.2 kg ai ha−1 pendimethalin. These rate combinations were shown to be synergistic and able to alleviate the antagonistic effect of moisture stress on fenoxaprop efficacy.

The influence of hot-dry and cool-moist environments on primisulfuron efficacy on giant foxtail and quackgrass was compared at the University of Wisconsin Biotron. Primisulfuron was applied POST at 20 and 40 g ai ha-1 with nonionic surfactant (NIS) or crop oil concentrate (COC) and with or without 28% nitrogen fertilizer (28% N). Giant foxtail control 3 wk after treatment was not affected by primisulfuron rates or adjuvants. Adding 28% N tended to improve quackgrass control with primisulfuron plus NIS or COC. Primisulfuron was more injurious to both giant foxtail and quackgrass in the cool-moist than the hot-dry environment. Absorption of 14C-primisulfuron into giant foxtail tissue 3 days after treatment (DAT) was greater in the cool-moist than the hot-dry environment Translocation of 14C out of treated leaf of quackgrass 3 DAT was greater in the cool-moist than the hot-dry environment. More 14C was absorbed and translocated in giant foxtail than quackgrass. Absorbed 14C was translocated equally to underground and above treated leaf sections of quackgrass, whereas more 14C was translocated above the treated leaf of giant foxtail.

The first occurrences of wild oat resistance to diclofop in the Willamette Valley of Oregon were reported in 1990. Among eight resistant biotypes, GR50 values for diclofop were 3 to 64 times greater than the GR50 for a susceptible wild oat biotype. GR50 values for other aryloxyphenoxypropionate herbicides varied from 1 to over 100 times greater than a susceptible biotype. Only one resistant biotype was resistant to cyclohexanedione herbicides, and this was only a three-fold increase in GR50. Except for one biotype that had a low level of resistance to pronamide, none of the wild oat biotypes were cross-resistant to any other commonly used wild oat herbicide. Levels of resistance and cross-resistance did not follow a consistent pattern among biotypes in this study, suggesting more than one resistance trait. There were significant differences in the light use efficiency, height, dry weight, leaf area, and extent and timing of tillering and flowering of four wild oat biotypes studied. These physiological and morphological differences suggest that these resistant biotypes were selected independently. The diversity of resistance patterns and the coevolution of resistance at several locations will add to the difficulty of resistance management

Existing long-term cotton experiments established in 1976 with minimum and intensive herbicide programs were subdivided in 1985 and 1986 to determine the longevity of fluometuron and trifluralin soil residues after discontinuing herbicide application. In monoculture cotton, seed cotton yield increased when herbicide use was discontinued in 1985 and 1986 after 9 and 10 yr of continuous use, respectively, on a Sharkey silty clay and a Dundee silt loam soil. Yield increases coincided with reductions of fluometuron and trifluralin soil residues. Fluometuron dissipated from the Dundee silt loam soil by 10 mo after the last application but was present in the Sharkey silty clay soil at 0.20 ppmw after 28 mo. Trifluralin did not totally dissipate from either soil, and low levels were present in the Dundee (0.05 ppmw) and Sharkey (0.13 ppmw) soils 30 mo after the last application. Visual injury to fall-seeded wheat and vetch decreased as herbicide residues dissipated. Fall tillage had no significant effect on the rate of fluometuron or trifluralin dissipation from either soil but reduced seed cotton yields.

Movement and persistence of the herbicide metribuzin [4-amino-6-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-3-(methylthio)-1,2,4-triazin-5(4H)-one] was assessed following two annual applications to a loamy sand soil under irrigated potato production in east-central Minnesota. Russet Burbank potato (Solanum tuberosum) was grown in plots in 1989 and 1990. Metribuzin was applied prior to potato emergence at rates of 0.56 and 1.1 kg ha-1. Water samples were collected weekly from suction samplers 90 and 150 cm deep. Bromide tracer and water balance data confirmed the movement of water to a depth of 150 cm. Metribuzin was not detected in soil samples below 45 cm during either year. Metribuzin was detected (mean concentration, 0.6 μg L-1) during 1990 in 17 of 473 (3.6%) water samples collected at the 90- and 150-cm depths in 8 of 16 plots. Averaged across rates and years, time for 50% dissipation of metribuzin was 30 d. At the end of the cropping seasons, an average of 17% of initial soil metribuzin remained in the 0- to 45-cm soil layer. Surface soil (0 to 15 cm) metribuzin adsorption coefficients, Kd and Koc, were 1.7 and 120, respectively. Metribuzin appeared to remain in the surface 15 cm of soil where it then degrades.

Relationships between soil sorption normalized to organic carbon (Koc) and molecular properties of 71 herbicides were examined. The Koc values were obtained from the literature. Various molecular properties were calculated by quantum mechanical methods using molecular modeling software. The quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) models based on four molecular properties, van der Waals volume (VDWv), molecular polarizability (α), dipole moment (μ), and energy of highest occupied molecular orbital (eHOMO), together accounted for 70% of the variation in Koc. Herbicides were broadly divided into six families based on structural similarities, and separate equations were established for each group. The three descriptors, VDWv, α, and μ, along with either energy of lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (eLUMO), or electrophilic superdelocalizability (SE), or eHOMO appeared to be determinants and accounted for 82 to 99% of the variation in Koc. Applicability of these models was tested for one herbicide analogue and 10 metabolites. The QSAR models appear to be specific to structurally similar chemicals. The QSAR models could be developed to predict Koc of structurally similar compounds even before they are synthesized or for some of the metabolites of existing herbicides. Models of this type can also be developed to create priority lists for testing, so that time, money, and efforts can be focused on the potentially most hazardous chemicals.