Manure applied to cropland may serve as a source of weed introduction and dispersal. In 36 manure samples from 20 farms, apparently-viable seeds from 13 grasses and 35 broadleaf plants were found. Common lambsquarters was on more than half the farms, yellow foxtail on 35%, common chickweed and dandelion on 30%, and wild mustard, redroot pigweed, and barnyardgrass on 25%. Four farms had manure with no seeds at all; the remainder averaged 75 100 per 1000 kg manure. Twelve milking-cow and heifer barns on six farms with large velvetleaf infestations also were sampled with an average of 133 000 seeds per 1000 kg manure. Only one barn contained velvetleaf seeds. When compared to soil seedbank numbers, manure is not an important seed source for New York farms. However, problems may arise with imported feeds heavily infested with weed seed or which contain even small numbers of noxious weeds.

Field studies were conducted for 4 yr to investigate the effects of tillage and herbicide programs on weed control and wheat (Triticum aestivum L. ‘Potomac’ in 1981 and ‘Wheeler’ from 1982 to 1984) grain yields in a wheat-soy bean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] double-crop rotation. Predominant weed species were common chickweed [Stellaria media (L.) Vill. # STEME], corn chamomile (Anthemis arvensis L. # ANTAR), and annual bluegrass (Poa annua L. # POAAN) at the onset of research and cheat (Bromus secalinus L. # BROSE) and soft brome (Bromus mollis L. # BROMO) at the conclusion of the study. Control of all species was excellent with conventional tillage and no-till plus nonselective herbicides but was significantly less with no-till without nonselective herbicides and with minimum tillage. After 4 yr, maximum wheat grain yields were significantly higher in conventional- than in minimum- or no-till systems.

Field experiments were conducted during 1981 to 1984 to evaluate paraquat for weed control in alfalfa established for less than one year. Treatments were applied in March to alfalfa up to 4 cm tall and/or after cuttings to alfalfa up to 10 cm tall. Weeds were up to 20 cm tall. Paraquat applied in March controlled common chickweed and shepherd's-purse in some experiments. It did not control birdsrape mustard when applied after cuttings. Paraquat suppressed growth of perennial broadleaf weeds and grasses and reduced pressure from annual grasses in some experiments. March treatments generally did not increase, but sometimes decreased alfalfa yields. Paraquat applied after cuttings did not affect alfalfa yields in the majority of the experiments.

Weed suppression in green pea was evaluated when green pea was planted after a fall planting of rapeseed, white mustard, rye, or wheat had been incorporated into the soil in spring. Tests were conducted at Mount Vernon, WA, in 1994 and 1995. Weed suppression in peas varied between different green manure crops. One month after planting, the highest weed population was in green pea following wheat, whereas the lowest was in green pea following rapeseed. Rye and white mustard suppressed early weeds relative to wheat by 25 and 30%, respectively. However, at harvest, weed density was similar in green pea planted after all green manure crops. Weed suppression improved when cultivation or metribuzin at 0.14 kg ha−1 was used in combination with white mustard, rapeseed, or rye. Pea population was not affected by green manure crops, except for rapeseed, which reduced pea population. In greenhouse experiments, white mustard added to the soil at 20 g per 400 g air dry soil reduced emergence of shepherd's-purse, kochia, and green foxtail by 97, 54, and 49%, respectively. Rapeseed suppressed emergence of shepherd's-purse, kochia, and green foxtail by 76, 25, and 25%, respectively.

The development of sustainable farming systems depends on our ability to predict and manage the response of weed communities to changes in cropping practices. A study was established at Normandin, Québec, Canada, to investigate the influence of liquid dairy manure and mineral fertilizer, as well as chisel and moldboard plow tillage systems, in a spring barley monoculture and a 3-yr spring barley-forage rotation that included red clover and timothy. Weed species richness (Margalef's DMG), evenness (Shannon's E), and diversity (Shannon's H') were examined in these treatments from 1992 to 1995. Nutrient source had no effect on any of the three diversity indices. Evenness values were extremely low in all years, suggesting dominance of a few weed species in most treatments. Weed species richness and diversity generally were greater in the barley-forage rotation compared with the monoculture. Tillage effects on richness and diversity varied with crop rotation. Margalef's DMG and Shannon's H' were greater in 1993 and 1995, but they were lower in 1994 when chisel was compared with moldboard plowing in the monoculture. In 1994, chickweed density was about five times greater in the chisel-plowed monoculture compared with other treatment combinations of rotation and tillage. In 1995, only one species with a density of six plants m−2 occurred in the moldboard-plowed monoculture compared with three to six species and densities of 51 to 832 plants m−2 in the other rotation by tillage treatments. Climatic conditions and herbicide use patterns in the different crop rotation treatments may have contributed to the more dynamic nature of weed species diversity in the barley monoculture. Reduced frequency of tillage and herbicide application; management of the forage stands, especially with regard to their termination; and improved soil resource availability likely explained the increased but more stable diversity of the weed communities in the barley-forage rotation.

The first significant cases of herbicide-resistant weed populations were to the triazines in the 1970s. In the last 10 years there has been an increase in the number of weed populations that have become resistant to an array of herbicides. In some of these cases, like rigid ryegrass in Australia, a multitude of resistant biotypes has evolved with different mechanisms of resistance. If the present trend continues, the number of herbicides effective on certain weed species may diminish rapidly. To counteract this trend, industry has organized a number of intercompany working groups to specifically address the development of resistance and to implement plans to manage resistance. University and extension along with industry personnel across the world have begun educating growers on resistance management. However, this effort needs to be intensified to find new solutions for controlling weeds through the use of integrated weed management practices that incorporate new and established herbicides with cultural, mechanical, and biological control methods. The challenge is to develop cost effective, environmentally sustainable programs for weed control while maintaining the present efficiency in food and fiber production so that needs of an ever expanding human population can be met.

Combination treatments of 2,4-D [(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid] + mecoprop {2-[(4-chloro-o-tolyl) oxy] propionic acid} + dicamba (3,6-dichloro-o-anisic acid) injured actively growing bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. # CYNDA] immediately after treatment. Treatments made at the normal (1.1 + 0.6 + 0.1 kg ai/ha) rate in August, September, or October, did not affect winter survival. A triple rate (3.3 + 1.8 + 0.3 kg/ha) delayed growth of ‘Tifgreen’ and ‘Tifdwarf’ more the following April than ‘Tifway’ and ‘Ormond’. Due to a reduction in turf stand from herbicide treatments, the cover of common chickweed [Stellaria media (L.) Cyrillo # STEME] was higher in plots to which herbicides were applied in August or September than in untreated plots. The cover of weeds was lower in Tifway and Ormond plots than in Tifgreen and Tifdwarf plots.

Weeds spread through movement of seeds and vegetative reproductive propagules. Pollen movement can spread weedy traits, such as herbicide resistance, between related weed and crop species. Weed seeds can spread short or long distances by natural plant dehiscence mechanisms, wind, water, animals, and man&s activities. This symposium paper is a practical review of short-distance spread of weed seeds in and between nearby arable fields and noncrop lands, examining some of the causes of spread and subsequent effects on crop production. Pollen movement, as it affects the spread of herbicide resistance, also is considered a component of short-distance weed spread. Specific weed management options can be used to reduce man-caused weed seed spread within and between nearby fields, thus reducing potential crop yield losses. Long-term management will be more difficult for weed seed spread by natural dispersal mechanisms.

Generalizations concerning the effects of management practices on weed community dynamics often lack robustness, most likely because of the concomitant effects of agronomic and environmental factors. However, such generalizations, when valid, provide useful grounds for predictions and are thus desirable. This study attempted to evaluate the relative importance of crop rotation, tillage, and weed management as factors affecting weed communities and tested the hypothesis of an association between management practices and weeds from certain life cycle groups. Principal component analysis (PCA) of weed density data from a 4-yr field study conducted on a Kamouraska clay and a Saint-André gravelly sandy loam at La Pocatière QC, Canada, identified groups of weed species, while an analysis of variance (ANOVA) of PCA scores associated these groups with management factors. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) of regression coefficients describing time courses of density for each species confirmed treatment effects. Species segregated roughly according to life cycles. Interactions among weed management intensity, tillage, and crop rotation mostly explained species dominance in the various cropping systems. A first group of species, mostly annual dicots, largely dominated in minimum weed management treatments; their relative importance in each rotation varied with their level of susceptibility to postemergence herbicides. A second group included annuals and perennials, whose commonality seemed to be their tolerance to herbicides; these species also had a particular affinity for chisel and no-till treatments. A third group was formed by perennial species, each with a different response to tillage. The tenuous correspondence between commonly used classification schemes and management factors suggests that other aspects of weed biology (e.g., seed size, dispersal, production, germination requirements, and seedbank longevity) should be considered when trying to explain and predict the presence and dominance of certain weed species with regard to management practices.

A study was conducted to evaluate efficacy of 17 PRE herbicides on seven weed species that are important competitors in container-grown ornamentals. Treatments included napropamide, metolachlor, acifluorfen, lactofen, oxyfluorfen, oryzalin, pendimethalin, prodiamine, trifluralin, isoxaben, oxadiazon, simazine and combination products. Control was evaluated by counting weed seedlings 42, 202, and 249 d after treatment. Some treatments provided nearly total control of less than 1.0 seedling per container at each rating over two years. Those treatments were: common groundsel—diphenyl ethers, isoxaben, oxadiazon, oxyfluorfen + oryzalin, and oxyfluorfen + pendimethalin; prostrate spurge—pendimethalin, prodiamine, prodiamine-ABD, trifluralin, oxadiazon, isoxaben + oryzalin, and methazole + prodiamine; common chickweed—isoxaben and isoxaben + oryzalin; hairy bittercress—oxyfluorfen, pendimethalin, prodiamine, prodiamine-ABE, oxadiazon, oxyfluorfen + oryzalin, oxyfluorfen + pendimethalin, and methazole + prodiamine; common ragweed—oxyfluorfen, prodiamine-ABD, methazole + prodiamine; Virginia pepperweed—lactofen, oxyfluorfen, oryzalin, pendimethalin, prodiamine, prodiamine-ABD, isoxaben, oxadiazon, oxyfluorfen + oryzalin, oryzalin + pendimethalin, isoxaben + oryzalin, and methazole + prodiamine; horseweed—oxyfluorfen, dinitroanilines, oxadiazon, oxyfluorfen + oryzalin, oxyfluorfen + pendimethalin, isoxaben + oryzalin, and methazole + prodiamine.

Unique long-term historical emergence records were used to assess the association between weed seedling emergence and various elements of meteorological data. These elements included both temperature-based and rainfall-related variables in the 7-d periods before and during which emergence occurred. Five weed species (Stellaria media, Chenopodium album, Capsella bursa-pastoris, Matricaria perforata, and Veronica hederifolia) with contrasting emergence patterns were studied in disturbed soil. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify meteorological variables of interest and allowed their relative importance to be assessed and ranked. Logistic regression was further used to associate probabilities of emergence with observed levels of important individual meteorological elements. This approach enabled prediction of the probability of emergence following given meteorological conditions and hence an assessment of the risk of omitting weed control measures. Predictions were made based on single meteorological variables and compared with observed data. Results indicated that temperature was the dominant factor in predicting emergence. Soil moisture, while also important, was a secondary factor only becoming important once the species-specific temperature requirement had been satisfied. The potential for further development of the model is discussed.

Field studies were conducted with fresh market spinach to examine crop tolerance and weed control with S-metolachlor. S-metolachlor was applied preemergence (PRE) at rates of 0.56, 0.72, 1.06, and 1.41 kg/ha and compared with the commercial standard cycloate at 3.4 and 4.5 kg/ha. Spinach was generally tolerant of S-metolachlor at rates up to 1.06 kg/ha on all soil types. S-Metolachlor at 0.56 to 0.72 kg/ha and cycloate at 3.4 kg/ha provided >88% control of common purslane, nettleleaf goosefoot, and shepherd's purse. Control of common chickweed with S-metolachlor at ≥0.56 kg/ha was >80%, whereas cycloate at 3.4 to 4.5 kg/ha was ineffective. Hand-weeding times in plots treated with S-metolachlor at 0.56 and 0.72 kg/ha were similar or lower than hand-weeding times in plots treated with cycloate at 3.4 kg/ha. Greenhouse studies were conducted to compare the relative tolerance of fresh market spinach to S-metolachlor and metolachlor. The GR10 values for S-metolachlor and metolachlor were 1.57 and 2.03 kg/ha, respectively. At rates above 2.2 kg/ha S-metolachlor is less selective in spinach than metolachlor. S-metolachlor is safe for PRE use in fresh market spinach at rates up to 1.06 kg/ha.