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Accepted manuscript

Multi-state assessment of electrocution for late-season weed control in soybean in the Central United States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 February 2026

Mandeep Singh
Affiliation:
Agronomy Advisor, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Davis, CA, USA
Matheus M Noguera
Affiliation:
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Division of Plant Science & Technology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
Amit J. Jhala
Affiliation:
Professor & Associate Department Head, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
Sarah Lancaster
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor, Department of Agronomy, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
Karla L. Gage
Affiliation:
Associate Professor, School of Agricultural Sciences/ School of Biological Sciences, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA
Bryan G Young
Affiliation:
Professor, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
William G. Johnson
Affiliation:
Professor, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
Prashant Jha
Affiliation:
Professor, School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
Kevin W. Bradley*
Affiliation:
Professor, Division of Plant Science & Technology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
*
Corresponding author: Kevin W. Bradley; Email: bradleyke@missouri.edu
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Abstract

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The increasing prevalence of herbicide-resistant weeds underscores the need to integrate non- chemical weed management approaches in soybean. Weed electrocution may be a viable option; however, limited research exists on the subject. A multi-state study was conducted to evaluate electrocution as a late-season weed control method in soybean across six Midwestern states, including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. The Weed Zapper™ electrocution implement was assessed across thirteen site-years during 2021 and 2022. The objectives of this study were to (i) evaluate the efficacy of weed electrocution on various weed species at travel speeds of 4.8 and 8.1 km h⁻¹, and (ii) compare the efficacy with other commercially available weed control options. Other non-chemical weed control treatments, which varied by location and were evaluated at selected site-years, included an inter-row cultivator, a tine cultivator, a row shaver, and a weed wiper. Weed species differed in their responses to electrocution, with the greatest control observed for giant ragweed (85%) at 14 d after treatment (DAT). Waterhemp control ranged from 43% to 78% across seven site-years, with ≥70% control achieved at four site-years. Averaged across weed species, control did not differ between electrocution speeds at 7 DAT, 14 DAT, or at soybean harvest. Weed electrocution generally provided similar or lesser control than other non-chemical treatments. In Illinois, waterhemp control with electrocution (78%) was comparable to single (65%) and sequential pass (88%) inter-row cultivation at 14 DAT in 2022. In Kansas, electrocution provided similar Palmer amaranth control (40%) to the row shaver in 2022, but lesser control in 2021 (50% vs. 73%). The results from this study suggest that weed electrocution could be a component of integrated weed management for late-season weed escapes in soybean.

Information

Type
Research Article
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Weed Science Society of America