Sequential application of soil-incorporated and post-emergence herbicides for controlling wild oat (Avena fatua L.) and green foxtail (Setaria viridis (L.) Beauv.) in spring wheat

The effects of shallow-soil-incorporated tri-allate or trifluralin, applied alone or in sequence with three post-emergence herbicides (barban, difenzoquat or flamprop-methyl), for controlling wild oat (Avena fatua L.) and green foxtail (Setaria viridis (L.) Beauv.) in spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L., cv. Neepawa) were investigated at Brandon, Manitoba in 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1981. All herbicide treatments, except trifluralin alone in 1981, gave good wild-oat control compared with the untreated control. Tri-allate applied alone did not control green foxtail. With tri-allate, subsequent applications of post-emergence herbicides did not further improve wild-oat control and produced a wheat yield similar to that of tri-allate applied alone. The addition of barban in 1981 did provide a significant yield increase. All treatments involving trifluralin gave equal foxtail control superior to that of tri-allate, but the post-emergence herbicides had no activity on green foxtail. Subsequent applications of barban and flamprop-methyl to trifluralin in 4 years and difenzoquat in 3 years improved wild-oat control. As a result, significant increases in yield were recorded from the addition of barban, difenzoquat, and flamprop-methyl in 1981 and in the mean values for 4 years. In one (1979) of the four years, difenzoquat application to tri-allate or trifluralin tended to reduce wheat tolerance based on visual ratings of plant height and growth vigour, but this did not affect wheat yield. Overall, herbicide treatments in 4 years resulted in significant wheat yield increases over the untreated control.