Several species of Potamogeton and Myriophyllum from New Jersey were collected and analyzed for 11 elements. Wide variations were observed in the inorganic composition of the plants, both within species and among species. In some instances, there appeared to be a relationship between the content of a specific element in a plant sample and the content of that element in the water in which the plants were growing. The nitrogen content of the plants was sufficiently high so that no extra nitrogen would be required to prepare composts from them.

A charcoal barrier method was devised to prevent the movement of S-ethyl dipropylthiocarbamate (EPTC) in the soil in order to expose certain parts of the plant without exposing the rest of the plant. Exposing the roots of barley (Hordeum vulgare L., var. Blue Mariot), oats (Avena sativa L., var. California Red), barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crusgalli L. Beauv.), annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.), wheat (Triticum vulgare L.), rice (Oryza sativa L., var. Belle Patna), cotton (Gossypium peruvianum Cav.), and yellow nutgrass (Cyperus esculentus L.) caused more injury than shoot exposure, while shoot exposure caused slightly more injury than root exposure to Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense Pers.), sorghum (Sorghum vulgare Pers., hybrid Amak R-10), and peas (Pisum sativum L.). Seed exposure caused severe injury in some plant species but not others. The results obtained by this method disagree with published reports which claimed that only shoot exposure to EPTC led to injury. In numerous experiments with barley seeds accurately planted in a vertical position in a ½-inch layer of charcoal between two 1-inch layers of soil, root exposure always injured the plants more than shoot exposure. Exposing all parts (seeds, roots, and shoots) to EPTC caused the most injury to barley followed by exposing only the seeds, a combination of roots and shoots, roots, and shoots in decreasing order of injury symptoms. Similar results were obtained with oats when the depth of the treated soil above or below the seed was 1 inch, but increasing this depth to 1.5 inches or more resulted in more injury by shoot exposure than root exposure. The importance of root exposure was confirmed using another method of testing in which only the roots were exposed to the herbicide in nutrient solutions. Concentrations as low as 1 ppm of EPTC applied to the roots in nutrient solutions inhibited shoot growth of oats, barley, sorghum, and corn, while the growth of the roots was enhanced in some cases.

The shoots of naturally established specimens of turkey oak (Quercus laevis Walt.) and red maple (Acer rubrum L.) were treated under conditions of approaching dormancy. Aqueous sprays of 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T) were applied as foliar treatments to the point of run-off at 2-week intervals beginning September 13 and continuing until three applications had been made for turkey oak and five had been made for red maple. Three experiments were conducted for turkey oak and two for red maple. Application rates were 2, 4, 8, and 16 lb of 2,4,5-T aehg of spray solution except that the 16-1b rate was deleted for turkey oak. Ester and amine derivatives were evaluated. Responses measured 9, 12, and 24 months after initiation of the experiments were percent control of original shoots, percent control of new shoots, shoot height, and number of live stems/plant. The average estimated control of original shoots of turkey oak and red maple increased from 42 to 54% as the application date was advanced from September 13 to October 11. The average height of the plants treated September 13 considering all evaluation dates was 3.4 ft compared to 2.6 ft for treatment made 4 weeks later. The results suggest two seasonal peaks in the response of some woody plants to foliar treatments of 2,4,5-T and that herbicidal effectiveness can be enhanced by application at the onset of senescence and dormancy.

A mixed stand of green rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus (Hook.) Nutt. var. puberulus Jepson) and big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) was sprayed at different dates for 3 years with potassium salt of 4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid (picloram) at ¼, ½, and 1 1b/A, propylene glycol butyl ether esters of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) at 1, 2, and 3 1b/A, and a mixture of triisopropanolamine salts of picloram plus 2,4-D at ¼ plus 1 and ½ plus 2 1b/A. Picloram at ½ and 1 1b/A controlled rabbitbrush but not sagebrush. Poor rabbitbrush control and fair to good sagebrush control resulted from 2,4-D. The mixture of picloram and 2,4-D controlled rabbitbrush well but only partially controlled sagebrush. Forage release from brush control was negligible the first 2 years after spraying. During the third and subsequent years, production of crested wheatgrass (Agropyron desertorum (Fisch.) Schult.) was greatly increased.

A method was developed for quantitative determination of miserotoxin, a poison in timber milkvetch (Astragalus miser Dougl. ex Hook.). The presence and concentration of miserotoxin was determined in eight varieties of timber milkvetch. The seasonal variation in the concentration of the poison was followed in variety oblongifolius (Rydb.) Cron. Miserotoxin occurred primarily in the leaves with smaller amounts in the roots, flowers, and seeds. The poison level in leaves and stems decreased rapidly after seed dispersal. Miserotoxin was found in varieties oblongifolius (Rydb.) Cron., serotinus (Gray) Barneby, and hylophilus (Rydb.) Barneby, but was not found in varieties miser Dougl. ex Hook., tenuifolius (Nutt.) Barneby, crispatus (Jones) Cron., praeteritus Barneby, and decumbens (Nutt.) Cron. The three varieties containing miserotoxin were poisonous to 1-week-old chicks (Gallus domesticus, Arbor Acre 50 × Vantress hybrids); the other five varieties were not poisonous.

Dodder (Cuscuta spp.) seedlings were killed when exposed to isopropyl m-chlorocarbanilate (chlorpropham) vapors in an enclosed system or in the open atmosphere in the greenhouse or field. No seedlings wrapped on the host when they were exposed for 16 hr or more in an enclosed system. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) foliage restricted air movement near the treated soil and favored accumulation of vapors that killed emerged and emerging seedlings.

The persistence of five herbicides in six soils across Nebraska can be ranked from greatest to least as follows: 5-bromo-3-isopropyl-6-methyluracil (isocil) at 5 and 25 1b/A, 2-chloro-4,6-bis-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine (propazine) at 3 and 9 1b/A, 2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-s-triazine (atrazine) at 3 and 9 1b/A, trichlorobenzyl chloride (hereinafter referred to as TCBC) at 7 and 49 1b/A, and 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1-methoxyl-1-methylurea (linuron) at 3 and 9 1b/A. Soil texture differences (sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, silt loam, and silty clay loam) had a greater influence on herbicide residue carryover than did climatic differences across Nebraska during 1962 to 1968. Soil carryover of herbicide residues was greater in coarse rather than fine-textured soils and in the drier regions of western than in eastern Nebraska. Leaching of herbicides into the soil profile was an avenue of herbicide dissipation.

The responses of established, spaced-planted strains of johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers.) to repeated, foliar applications of herbicides were studied under irrigated desert conditions. Monosodium methanearsonate (MSMA) and disodium methanearsonate (DSMA) were the most effective herbicides. Six to 10 applications with 3 to 6 lb aihg of either herbicide (totaling 24 to 60 1b/A) killed johnsongrass in most experiments. Treatments initiated in the fall were more effective than similar treatments started in the spring. Higher rates of organic arsenicals were required to destroy topgrowth of johnsongrass in the spring and fall than during the summer. DSMA applications at 4 and 6-week intervals were more effective than applications at 8-week intervals. Six 1b/A of DSMA in 100 gpa of water applied broadcast was as effective as 400 gpa containing 6 lb aihg of DSMA applied as a spot treatment. Removing topgrowth of johnsongrass 4 or 24 hr after treatment did not reduce the effectiveness of DSMA. Combining or alternating organic arsenicals with 2,2-dichloropropionic acid (dalapon) reduced the effectiveness of the arsenicals. Susceptible strains were destroyed by five or six applications of DSMA and MSMA while 9 or 10 applications were needed to kill more resistant strains.

In growth chamber studies, high relative humidity and rewetting crystalline spray deposits of 2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-s-triazine (atrazine) increased absorption by and phytotoxicity to giant foxtail (Setaria faberii Herrm.), but phytotoxicity was restricted to expanded (unrolled) leaves unless some atrazine was absorbed by the roots. Though phytotoxicity was increased by simulated rainfall when root absorption was prevented, an appreciable number of the plants were killed only when atrazine residues were washed into the soil. In field studies, atrazine applied to a wet soil surface was as effective as the same rate of atrazine foliarly applied. In other field experiments, atrazine applied to giant foxtail on a wet soil and followed by simulated rainfall reduced stand and dry weight, but on a dry soil and not followed by simulated rainfall, atrazine reduced dry weight less and did not reduce stand. These results are due to root absorption of atrazine from wet soil. Spray additives increased phytotoxicity.

The relation between soil moisture and the effectiveness of preemergence herbicides for control of giant foxtail (Setaria faberii Herrm.) was studied under greenhouse conditions using surface soil from Drummer silty clay loam with 25, 31, and 37% moisture. Herbicides used were 2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-s-triazine (atrazine), ethyl N,N-dipropylthiocarbamate (EPTC), 3-amino-2,5-dichlorobenzoic acid (amiben), α,α,α-trifluoro-2,6-dinitro-N,N-dipropyl-p-toluidine (trifluralin), 2-chloro-N-isopropylacetanilide (propachlor), and 2-chloro-N-(methoxymethyl)-2',6'-diethyl-acetanilide (hereinafter referred to as CP 50144). The effectiveness of atrazine and EPTC was increased when soil moisture was raised from 25 to 31%, but no further increase was obtained at 37% moisture. Response to amiben increased linearly and response to trifluralin decreased linearly with increasing moisture. Increasing moisture within this range had little effect on propachlor or CP 50144.

Land availability and topography in Puerto Rico dictated the development of a method for evaluating herbicide foliage sprays on individual trees and small plots. A pneumatically operated aluminum mast with six telescoping sections, capable of extending from 12 to 50 ft and mounted on a swivel base, was fitted with two different spray delivery systems. A spray boom consisting of two 10-ft sections of 0.75-inch aluminum pipe and equipped with 12 diaphragm nozzles was mounted on the top of the telescoping mast. An alternate spray system was developed by attaching a modified Spraying Systems BoomJet unit to the top of the telescoping mast. To spray with the above systems, the mast is erected and guyed to a vertical position, the spray unit raised to the proper height, and the mast uniformly rotated through an arc of 240° during which the spray is delivered to opposite 180° portions of a circle. The spray coverage for both systems was similar for an area 20 ft in diam, but the droplet size and distribution was more uniform with the boom than with the Boomjet.

A miniature sprayer designed for primary screening of herbicides is described. It uses a drift-free flat fan nozzle at low pressure. It has negligible dead volume and a minimum of wetted surface. Total cost was about $10.00 in 1967.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum, subspecies vulgare L.) straw, sawdust, peat, and cellulose pulp were mixed with Westmoreland silt loam in a 2 to 1 ratio (soil to organic matter) in a greenhouse study, on the influence of organic matter-interaction with 3-amino-2,5-dichlorobenzoic acid (amiben) on nodulation and growth of soybeans (Glycine max L., var. Clark). The dry weights of shoots and roots, harvested 1 week after flower initiation in the control, decreased with increasing rates of amiben in the unamended soil and in soil in which cellulose pulp and peat were mixed.