Clifford H. Koger

Factors affecting seed germination, seedling emergence, and survival of texasweed (Caperonia palustris)

Abstract Field, laboratory, and greenhouse experiments were conducted to determine the seed production potential and effect of environmental factors on germination, emergence, and survival of texasweed. Texasweed produced an average of 893 seed per plant, and 90% were viable. Seed exhibited dormancy, and prechilling did not release dormancy. Percent germination ranged from 56% for seed subjected to no prechilling to 1% for seed prechilled at 5 C for 140 d. Seed remained viable during extended prechilling conditions, with 80% of seed viable after 140 d of prechilling. Texasweed seed germinated over a range of 20 to 40 C, with optimum germination (54%) occurring with a fluctuating 40/30 C temperature regime. Seed germinated with fluctuating 12-h light/dark and constant dark conditions. Texasweed seed germinated over a broad range of pH, osmotic potential, and salt concentrations. Seed germination was 31 to 62% over a pH range from 4 to 10. Germination of texasweed ranged from 9 to 56% as osmotic potential decreased from − 0.8 MPa to 0 (distilled water). Germination was greater than 52% at less than 40 mM NaCl concentrations and lowest (27%) at 160 mM NaCl. Texasweed seedlings emerged from soil depths as deep as 7.5 cm (7% emergence), but emergence was > 67% for seed placed on the soil surface or at a 1-cm depth. Texasweed seed did not germinate under saturated or flooded conditions, but seed survived flooding and germinated (23 to 25%) after flood removal. Texasweed seedlings 2.5 to 15 cm tall were not affected by emersion in 10-cm-deep flood for up to 14 d. These results suggest that texasweed seed is capable of germinating and surviving in a variety of climatic and edaphic conditions, and that flooding is not a viable management option for emerged plants of texasweed. Nomenclature: Texasweed, Caperonia palustris (L.) St. Hil. CNPPA.

Glyphosate-Resistant Horseweed (Conyza canadensis) in Mississippi1

Survival of horseweed in several glyphosate-tolerant cotton and soybean fields treated with glyphosate at recommended rates preplant and postemergence was observed in Mississippi and Tennessee in 2001 and 2002. Plants originating from seed collected from fields where horseweed escapes occurred in 2002 were grown in the greenhouse to the 5-leaf, 13- to 15-leaf, and 25- to 30-leaf growth stages and treated with the isopropylamine salt of glyphosate at 0, 0.025, 0.05, 0.1, 0.21, 0.42, 0.84, 1.68, 3.36, 6.72, and 13.44 kg ae/ha to determine if resistance to glyphosate existed in any biotype. All biotypes exhibited an 8- to 12-fold level of resistance to glyphosate when compared with a susceptible biotype. One resistant biotype from Mississippi was two- to fourfold more resistant than other resistant biotypes. Growth stage had little effect on level of glyphosate resistance. The glyphosate rate required to reduce biomass of glyphosate-resistant horseweed by 50% (GR50) increased from 0.14 to 2.2 kg/ha as plant size increased from the 5-leaf to 25- to 30-leaf growth stage. The GR50 rate for the susceptible biotype increased from 0.02 to 0.2 kg/ha glyphosate. These results demonstrate that the difficult-to-control biotypes were resistant to glyphosate, that resistant biotypes could survive glyphosate rates of up to 6.72 kg/ha, and that plant size affected both resistant and susceptible biotypes in a similar manner. Nomenclature: Glyphosate; horseweed, Conyza canadensis (L.) Cronq. #3 ERICA; cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L.; soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr. Additional index words: Biomass reduction, glyphosate resistance, herbicide resistance, herbicide tolerance, weed resistance. Abbreviations: DAT, day after treatment; POST, postemergence; WAT, week after treatment.

Assessment of two nondestructive assays for detecting glyphosate resistance in horseweed (Conyza canadensis)

Abstract Two rapid, nondestructive assays were developed and tested for their potential in differentiating glyphosate-resistant from glyphosate-susceptible biotypes of horseweed. In one assay, leaves of glyphosate-resistant and -susceptible corn, cotton, and soybean plants as well as glyphosate-resistant and -susceptible horseweed plants were dipped in solutions of 0, 300, 600, and 1200 mg ae L−1 glyphosate for 3 d and subsequent injury was evaluated. In the second assay, plant sensitivity to glyphosate was evaluated in vivo by incubating excised leaf disc tissue from the same plants used in the first assay in 0.7, 1.3, 2.6, 5.3, 10.6, 21.1, 42.3, and 84.5 mg ae L−1 glyphosate solutions for 16 h and measuring shikimate levels with a spectrophotometer. The leaf-dip assay differentiated between glyphosate-resistant and -susceptible crops and horseweed biotypes. The 600 mg L−1 rate of glyphosate was more consistent in differentiating resistant and susceptible plants compared with the 300 and 1,200 mg L−1 rates. The in vivo assay detected significant differences between susceptible and glyphosate-resistant plants of all species. Shikimate accumulated in a glyphosate dose-dependent manner in leaf discs from susceptible crops, but shikimate did not accumulate in leaf discs from resistant crops and levels were similar to nontreated leaf discs. Shikimate accumulated at high (≥ 21.1 mg ae L−1) concentrations of glyphosate in leaf discs from all horseweed biotypes. Shikimate accumulated at low glyphosate concentrations (≤ 10.6 mg L−1) in leaf discs from susceptible horseweed biotypes but not in resistant biotypes. Both assays were able to differentiate resistant from susceptible biotypes of horseweed and might have utility for screening other weed populations for resistance to glyphosate. Nomenclature: Glyphosate; horseweed, Conyza canadensis (L.) Cronq. ERICA; corn, Zea mays L. ‘Dekalb 687RR’, ‘Pioneer 31B13’; cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L. ‘Delta and Pine Land 444RR’, ‘Suregrow 747’; soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr. ‘Delta and Pine Land 4748’, ‘Asgrow 4702RR’.

Detecting Late-Season Weed Infestations in Soybean (Glycine max) 1

Field experiments were conducted in 1999 at Stoneville, MS, to determine the potential of multispectral imagery for late-season discrimination of weed-infested and weed-free soybean. Plant canopy composition for soybean and weeds was estimated after soybean or weed canopy closure. Weed canopy estimates ranged from 30 to 36% for all weed-infested soybean plots, and weeds present were browntop millet, barnyardgrass, and large crabgrass. In each experiment, data were collected for the green, red, and near-infrared (NIR) spectrums four times after canopy closure. The red and NIR bands were used to develop a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) for each plot, and all spectral bands and NDVI were used as classification features to discriminate between weed-infested and weed-free soybean. Spectral response for all bands and NDVI were often higher in weed-infested soybean than in weed-free soybean. Weed infestations were discriminated from weed-free soybean with at least 90% accuracy. Discriminant analysis models formed from one image were 78 to 90% accurate in discriminating weed infestations for other images obtained from the same and other experiments. Multispectral imagery has the potential for discriminating late-season weed infestations across a range of crop growth stages by using discriminant models developed from other imagery data sets. Nomenclature: Barnyardgrass, Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv. #3 ECHCG; browntop millet, Brachiaria ramosa (L.) Stapf # PANRA; large crabgrass, Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop. # DIGSA; soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr. Additional index words: Discriminant analysis, multispectral, remote sensing, normalized difference vegetation index, weed detection. Abbreviations: DGPS, differential global positioning system; exp., experiment; NDVI, normalized difference vegetation index; NIR, near infrared; POST, postemergence; PRE, preemergence.

Weed Control and Cotton Response to Combinations of Glyphosate and Trifloxysulfuron1

Greenhouse and field studies were conducted to evaluate potential interactions between glyphosate and trifloxysulfuron on barnyardgrass, browntop millet, hemp sesbania, seedling johnsongrass, pitted morningglory, prickly sida, sicklepod, and velvetleaf control as well as cotton injury and yield. In the greenhouse, glyphosate at 840 g ae/ha controlled all weed species 62 to 99%, which was better than trifloxysulfuron at 2.5 or 5 g ai/ha. Control of four-leaf pitted morningglory and hemp sesbania was 80 to 88% when glyphosate and trifloxysulfuron were mixed compared with 62 to 66% control with glyphosate alone. Mixing trifloxysulfuron with glyphosate did not affect control of other species compared with glyphosate alone. In the field, glyphosate controlled barnyardgrass, prickly sida, sicklepod, seedling johnsongrass, and velvetleaf 68 to 100%. Trifloxysulfuron controlled hemp sesbania, seedling johnsongrass, and sicklepod 65 to 88%. All other species were controlled 36 to 72% with glyphosate and 10 to 60% with trifloxysulfuron. Combinations of glyphosate (840 g/ha) and trifloxysulfuron (5 g/ha) were applied postemergence over-the-top and postemergence-directed to three-, six-, and nine-leaf glyphosate-resistant cotton in the field. Cotton injury at 2 wk after treatment (WAT) was less than 13% for all herbicide treatments and less than 5% by 3 WAT. Herbicides did not affect the percent of open bolls or nodes per plant. Seed cotton yield ranged from 1,430 to 1,660 kg/ha, and only the sequential over-the-top applications of trifloxysulfuron reduced cotton yield compared with the weed-free, nontreated cotton. Nomenclature: Glyphosate; trifloxysulfuron; barnyardgrass, Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv. #3 ECHCG; browntop millet, Brachiaria ramosa (L.) Stapf # PANRA; entireleaf morningglory, Ipomoea hederacea var. integriuscula Gray # IPOHG; hemp sesbania, Sesbania exaltata (Raf.) Rydb. ex A. W. Hill # SEBEX; johnsongrass, Sorghum halepense L. Pers. # SORHA; pitted morningglory, Ipomoea lacunosa L. # IPOLA; prickly sida, Sida spinosa L. # SIDSP; sicklepod, Senna obtusifolia (L.) Irwin & Barnaby # CASOB; velvetleaf, Abutilon theophrasti Medik. # ABUTH; cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L. Additional index words: CGA-362622, crop injury, glyphosate-resistant cotton, herbicide interactions, pesticide interactions, tank mixtures. Abbreviations: ALS, acetolactate synthase; EPOST, early postemergence; fb, followed by; GRC, glyphosate-resistant cotton; LPOST, late postemergence; MPOST, midpostemergence; PD, postemergence-directed; POST, postemergence; POT, postemergence over-the-top; WAT, weeks after treatment.

Effect of Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica) Extracts on Germination and Seedling Growth of Selected Grass and Broadleaf Species1

The effects of cogongrass foliage and root residue extracts on germination and radicle and coleoptile growth of barnyardgrass, browntop millet, bermudagrass, hemp sesbania, Italian ryegrass, and prickly sida were investigated in laboratory experiments. Liquid extracts of cogongrass foliage and root residues at concentrations of 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 8% were evaluated on bermudagrass and Italian ryegrass. Effects of 8% foliage or root residue extracts were investigated on hemp sesbania, prickly sida, barnyardgrass, and browntop millet. Cogongrass residue (foliage and root) extracts at concentrations as low as 0.5% inhibited germination and seedling growth of bermudagrass and Italian ryegrass. Germination of bermudagrass and Italian ryegrass was reduced by as much as 62% and radicle and coleoptile growth by as much as 96% at the highest extract concentrations. Foliage and root residue extracts reduced germination of barnyardgrass, browntop millet, and prickly sida 52 to 64% and seedling growth by as much as 96%. Cogongrass extracts had no effect on germination or seedling development of hemp sesbania. Results indicate that extracts of cogongrass may contain allelochemicals that may contribute to its invasiveness and extreme competitiveness. Nomenclature: Barnyardgrass, Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv. #3 ECHCG; bermudagrass, Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. # CYNDA; browntop millet, Brachiaria ramosa (L.) Stapf. # PANRA; cogongrass, Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv. # IMPCY; hemp sesbania, Sesbania exaltata (Raf.) Rydb. Ex A. W. Hill # SEBEX; Italian ryegrass, Lolium multiflorum Lam. # LOLMU; prickly sida, Sida spinosa L. # SIDSP. Additional index words: Allelopathy, coleoptile, germination, plant extracts, plant residues, radicle.

Effect of Glyphosate Spray Coverage on Control of Pitted Morningglory (Ipomoea lacunosa)1

Greenhouse and field experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of glyphosate rate and degree of glyphosate spray coverage on pitted morningglory control. Pitted morningglory in the two-, four-, and six-leaf growth stages were treated with the isopropylamine salt of glyphosate at 0.28, 0.56, 0.84, 1.12, 1.40, and 1.68 kg ai/ha. Two- and four-leaf plants were controlled 98% with 1.68 kg/ha glyphosate, whereas six-leaf plants were controlled 68%. Control of two-, four-, and six-leaf plants with the commonly used field rate of 1.12 kg/ha was 68, 60, and 50%, respectively. In a separate greenhouse study, four-leaf pitted morningglory plants with 0, 33, 66, or 100% of their total leaf area exposed to herbicide spray were treated with 0.84, 1.68, or 3.36 kg/ha glyphosate. Increasing glyphosate rate from 0.84 to 3.36 kg/ha increased control from 36 to 88%. In contrast, increasing percent leaf exposure to glyphosate from 0 to 100% increased control from 57 to 75%. Increasing glyphosate rate from 0.84 to 1.68 kg/ha always improved control. However, increasing glyphosate rate from 1.68 to 3.36 kg/ha was beneficial only when no leaves were exposed to the spray solution. In the field, glyphosate spray coverage decreased from 85 to 40% as plant density increased from 1 to 32 plants/m2. However, control decreased only 11% (90 to 79%) between the highest and lowest levels of glyphosate spray coverage. These results demonstrated that inadequate control of pitted morningglory with glyphosate was more related to tolerance than glyphosate spray coverage. Glyphosate rates higher than 1.68 kg/ha may be beneficial when spray coverage is severely limited or when plants are beyond the four-leaf growth stage. Nomenclature: Glyphosate; pitted morningglory, Ipomoea lacunosa L. #3 IPOLA. Additional index words: Biomass reduction, herbicide efficacy, herbicide tolerance, plant density, plant population. Abbreviations: LAI, leaf area index; PAR, photosynthetically active radiation; WAT, weeks after treatment.

Detection of pitted morningglory (Ipomoea lacunosa) with hyperspectral remote sensing. II. Effects of vegetation ground cover and reflectance properties

Abstract Field research was conducted to determine the potential of hyperspectral remote sensing for discriminating plots of soybean intermixed with pitted morningglory and weed-free soybean with similar and different proportions of vegetation ground cover. Hyperspectral data were collected using a handheld spectroradiometer when pitted morningglory was in the cotyledon to two-leaf, two- to four-leaf, and four- to six-leaf growth stages. Synthesized reflectance measurements containing equal and unequal proportions of reflectance from vegetation were obtained, and seven 50-nm spectral bands (one ultraviolet, two visible, and four near-infrared) derived from each hyperspectral reflectance measurement were used as discrimination variables to differentiate weed-free soybean and soybean intermixed with pitted morningglory. Discrimination accuracy was 93 to 100% regardless of pitted morningglory growth stage and whether equal or unequal proportions of reflectance from vegetation existed in weed-free soybean and soybean intermixed with pitted morningglory. Discrimination accuracy was 88 to 98% when using the discriminant model developed for one experiment to discriminate soybean intermixed with pitted morningglory and weed-free soybean plots of the other experiment. Reflectance in the near-infrared spectrum was higher for weed-free soybean compared with soybean intermixed with pitted morningglory, and this difference affected the ability to discriminate weed-free soybean from soybean intermixed with pitted morningglory. Nomenclature: Pitted morningglory, Ipomoea lacunosa L. IPOLA; soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr. ‘Asgrow 4702RR’.

Control of Sericea Lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata) with Triclopyr, Fluroxypyr, and Metsulfuron1

Abstract: Sericea lespedeza is an invasive weed in the tallgrass prairies of the Southern Great Plains. Field experiments were initiated in 1995 at three locations in central Oklahoma to evaluate control of sericea lespedeza for several years after treatment with herbicide. Herbicide treatments included triclopyr at 560 and 840 g ae/ha, fluroxypyr at 210 and 560 g ae/ha, and metsulfuron at 13 and 21 g ai/ha applied at simple-stem (SS), branched-stem (BS), and flowering (FL) growth stages of sericea lespedeza. At all three locations, applications of triclopyr and fluroxypyr at the BS growth stage resulted in less than 4% of the pretreatment sericea lespedeza stem density remaining in the first growing season after treatment (GSAT). Metsulfuron applied at the FL growth stage resulted in 0 to 9% of the pretreatment stem density remaining in the first GSAT. Regardless of rate, triclopyr and fluroxypyr applied at the BS growth stage provided the most consistent long-term control of sericea lespedeza. Percentage of pretreatment stem density remaining with these treatments was 0 to 20% at two locations in the third GSAT, and 4 to 15% at one location in the fifth GSAT. Aboveground biomass yields of desirable grasses (bermudagrass, indiangrass, and little bluestem) at two locations were greater than that of the untreated check in the second and third GSAT in all herbicide treatments. But biomass yield of bermudagrass did not increase when sericea lespedeza was controlled at the location with eroded soil conditions. Nomenclature: Fluroxypyr; metsulfuron; triclopyr; bermudagrass, Cynodon dactylon L. #3 CYNDA; indiangrass, Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash; little bluestem, Shizachyrium scoparium (Michx.) Nash; sericea lespedeza, Lespedeza cuneata L. # LESCU; western ragweed, Ambrosia psilostachya DC. # AMBPS. Additional index words: Pasture, tallgrass prairie. Abbreviations: BS, branched stem; FL, flowering; GSAT, growing season after treatment; SS, simple stem.

Response of selected grass and broadleaf species to cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica) residues

Effects of cogongrass foliage and rhizome plus root residues on germination and shoot and root growth of barnyardgrass, bermudagrass, browntop millet, hemp sesbania, Italian ryegrass, and prickly sida were investigated in greenhouse experiments. Ground residues of dried cogongrass foliage and rhizomes plus roots were mixed separately with sterilized sand to obtain residue concentrations of 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 8%. These residue concentrations were investigated on bermudagrass and Italian ryegrass, and the 8% residue concentrations were also evaluated on hemp sesbania, prickly sida, barnyardgrass, and browntop millet. Foliage and rhizome plus root residues at concentrations as low as 0.25% inhibited seed germination and shoot and root growth of all species except hemp sesbania. Germination of bermudagrass and Italian ryegrass was reduced by as much as 97% and shoot and root growth by as much as 94% at the highest residue concentrations. Rhizome plus root residues reduced germination and shoot and root growth of bermudagrass and Italian ryegrass more than foliage residues. Foliage and rhizome plus root residues reduced germination and shoot and root biomass of prickly sida, barnyardgrass, and browntop millet at similar levels. Results indicate that cogongrass tissue may contain allelochemicals that contribute to its invasiveness and extreme competitiveness. Nomenclature: Barnyardgrass, Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv. #3 ECHCG; bermudagrass, Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. # CYNDA; browntop millet, Brachiaria ramosa (L.) Stapf. # PANRA; cogongrass, Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv. # IMPCY; hemp sesbania, Sesbania exaltata (Raf.) Rydb. ex A. W. Hill # SEBEX; Italian ryegrass, Lolium multiflorum Lam. # LOLMU; prickly sida, Sida spinosa L. # SIDSP. Additional index words: Allelochemical, allelopathy, germination, growth inhibition, plant residues, root growth, seedling, shoot growth. Abbreviations: DAP, days after planting; DDW, double-distilled water.