Herbicide savings and economic benefits of several strategies to control Sorghum halepense in maize crops

This study was conducted to assess the herbicide savings and the cost efficiency of site-specific herbicide application strategies in comparison with other strategies based on uniform application of herbicides throughout the whole field. The specific situation considered was Sorghum halepense infested maize fields in Spain. The results from a theoretical economic model were contrasted with the information derived from a S. halepense survey conducted in 37 commercial maize fields distributed over three Spanish maize production areas. Seven application strategies were simulated: 1) no herbicide; 2) overall full-rate; 3) overall half-rate; 4) and 5) site-specific spraying infested cells with full- and half-rate, respectively; 6) and 7) site-specific spraying infested cells plus adjacent buffer areas with full- and half-rate, respectively. The simulation results showed that site-specific weed management was the most profitable strategy when S. halepense infested area ranged between 6.5 and 18.7%. This scenario was present in 22% of the surveyed fields. In fields with less than 6.5% infestation (a situation present in 51% of the surveyed fields), yield losses were slight and the most profitable strategy was using no herbicide. When the infested area ranged between 18.7 and 40.8% (19% of the surveyed fields), no significant differences were observed between the net benefits of the various strategies. Full rate herbicide applications throughout the entire field resulted in the highest net returns in fields with more than 40.8% weed infestation (8% of the surveyed fields). In these cases, the added costs of weed detection, mapping and site-specific herbicide application were not justified by the herbicide savings obtained. Likewise, herbicide savings obtained with the various strategies depended on the proportion of the field infested. Considering the high difference between site-specific treatments and uniform application of herbicides when the infested area ranged between 18.7 and 40.8%, and that no significant differences in net returns were observed in this range, site-specific treatments should be preferred. Adding a buffer area to the site-specific treatments does not seem a suitable strategy due to the considerable increases in costs and reductions in herbicide savings.     

不同覆盖措施无公害清除五味子园杂草的试验

通过对凤城市郊区北五味子园杂草种群分布情况的调查和实施不同覆盖措施清除杂草试验，结果表明：凤城市郊区五味子园杂草具有鲜明的季节特性和杂草分布不均匀特性，杂草滋生数量较大，对五味子植株生产影响较大；杂草主要通过草籽和串根繁殖；不同覆盖措施间控制杂草的效果差异极显著，以覆双层黑地膜取得的效果最好，杂草比对照减少99．80％。采取双层黑地膜覆盖技术是有效控制五味子园杂草滋生蔓延的最佳措施，能够达到彻底控制杂草的目的。     

新靶标铁苋菜在除草化合物筛选研究中的应用

铁苋菜具有特殊的生物学特性,属于旱田难防杂草。采用商品化除草剂硝磺草酮及巴佰金对铁苋菜进行室内防除试验,同时验证与硝磺草酮及巴佰金结构类似的新化合物对其的防除活性。结果表明,结构类似的除草化合物对铁苋菜的防除活性较为接近;铁苋菜作为新的生测靶标,可应用于化合物除草活性生测筛选研究。     

豚草条纹叶(虫甲)(鞘翅目:叶(虫甲)科)的寄主专一性测定

1987年从苏联、加拿大引进原产北美的豚草天敌—豚草条纹叶(虫甲),在室内用具有代表性的23科72种主要经济作物、粮食作物、观赏植物及与豚草近缘或形态上相似的植物,进行了食性测定。结果表明,豚草条纹叶(虫甲)食性专一,仅取食豚草,不取食其它任何供试植物,在我国可以安全利用。在饥饿条件下,一龄幼虫的耐饥能力为3.1天,雌、雄成虫的耐饥能力分别为14和10.2天。     

豚草条纹叶(虫甲)的生物学特性

豚草条纹叶(虫甲)在北京地区年发生3代,以成虫入土越冬。越冬成虫于4月底至5月上出土活动。1、2、3代成虫分别于6月中下、7月下至8月初和9上中旬羽化出土。在26±1℃恒温条件下,雌雄成虫的寿命为82.5和67.8天。产卵前期16.5天,产卵期49.1天,一生产卵394.5粒。成虫一般仅在产卵后第30天前后出现一次明显的产卵高峰。卵、幼虫、蛹的发育历期分别为5.0、13.9和12.9天,在保温条件下,卵的孵化率最高,达92％。幼虫和蛹的存活率在16±1℃、26±1℃恒温及20～27℃室温条件下,差异不明显,最高78％,最低66.7％。     

Quality versus quantity: spring wheat seed size and seeding rate effects on Avena fatua interference, economic returns and economic thresholds

A 3-year field experiment was conducted at Kalispell, Montana, USA, to investigate the effects of spring wheat seed size and seeding rate on wheat yield loss (YL), economic returns and economic thresholds (ETs), as a function of Avena fatua density. Crop competitive ability increased as wheat seeding rate and seed size increased, with the greatest differences among treatment factors being observed at low weed densities. Both treatment factors decreased spring wheat YL, increasing economic returns during all 3 years of the study despite the higher associated seed costs. Averaged over all other factors, adjusted gross returns (AGR) were 477 and 537$ ha⁻¹ for the low and high seeding rates, while values of 453, 521 and 547$ ha⁻¹ were obtained for the small, bulk and large seed size classes respectively. Weed-free yield potential varied yearly. As yield potential increased, A. fatua competitive effects were more evident and ETs decreased. Nonetheless, both treatment factors increased ETs in 2 of 3 years. These results demonstrate that the use of higher seeding rates and larger seed size classes both improve wheat competitive ability towards A. fatua while simultaneously increasing economic returns.     

Cutting weeds with a CO2 laser

Stems of Chenopodium album . and Sinapis arvensis . and leaves of Lolium perenne . were cut with a CO₂ laser or with a pair of scissors. Treatments were carried out on greenhouse-grown pot plants at three different growth stages and at two heights. Plant dry matter was measured 2 to 5 weeks after treatment. The relationship between dry weight and laser energy was analysed using a non-linear dose–response regression model. The regression parameters differed significantly between the weed species. At all growth stages and heights S. arvensis was more difficult to cut with a CO₂ laser than C. album . When stems were cut below the meristems, 0.9 and 2.3 J mm⁻¹ of CO₂ laser energy dose was sufficient to reduce by 90% the biomass of C. album and S. arvensis respectively. Regrowth appeared when dicotyledonous plant stems were cut above meristems, indicating that it is important to cut close to the soil surface to obtain a significant effect. When cutting L. perenne plants with 2-true leaves at a height of 2 cm from the soil surface with a laser, the biomass decreased significantly compared with plants cut by scissors, indicating a delay in regrowth. This delay was not observed for the dicotyledonous plants nor for the other growth stages of L. perenne .     

Potential of weed seedbanks for managing weeds: a review of recent New Zealand research

Weed seedbanks are the primary source of weeds in cultivated soils. Some knowledge of the weed seedbank may therefore be appropriate for integrated weed management programs. It would also be very useful in planning herbicide programs and reducing the total herbicide use. However, a number of problems are inherent in the estimation of the seedbank size for arable weeds that usually have annual life cycles. In a long-term research project we have investigated the dynamics of weed seedbanks in corn fields for the past 8 years. Specific studies have included (i) developing cheap and efficient methods for estimating the weed seedbank; (ii) developing guidelines for efficient soil sampling (including the number and size of samples); (iii) influence of cultivation methods on weed seed distribution; (iv) mapping the spatial variability of the seedbank; (v) estimating the rate of seedbank decline for certain weed species; and (vi) assessing the potential of using the weed seed content in the soil to predict future weed problems. This paper reviews and summarizes the results of our research on the above aspects. The strong correlation between seedlings emerged in the greenhouse and seeds extracted in the laboratory for the most abundant weed species has demonstrated the potential for using the weed seed content of the soil to predict future weed infestations. The next step is to establish correlations with field emergence under commercial conditions using the sampling guidelines developed in our studies. Subsequently, we aim to offer the weed seedbank estimation as a commercial service to farmers for planning the most appropriate weed management options.