Year: 2000
Type: article
Abstract: Replacing herbicides with mechanical cultivation can reduce pesticide use in row crop production. Although amajority of Iowas corn land is cultivated, most is cultivated only once and herbicide is broadcast applied. To increasegrower confidence in reducing herbicide use and in using cultivation for interrow weed control, a three-year fieldexperiment compared various single-cultivation plus band-herbicide application strategies with broadcast applicationstrategy and no-control strategy. To cover larger acreages in a narrow window of time, cultivation speed was increasedeach year from 11.3 to 14.1 to 16.9 km/h (7.0, 8.8, and 10.5 mph). A 38-cm (15-in.) herbicide band treatment had lessweed growth, and generally greater yield, extended leaf height, and corn population than did a 19-cm (7.5-in.) bandtreatment. Few differences were noted among cultivator styles. Weed management and grain yield were as good or betterwith the traditional low-crown sweep as with other styles. Its wider cutting width (56-cm or 22 in.) in 76-cm (30-in.) rowsresulted in a lower corn population, however, when operated at 16.9 km/h (10.5 mph) with a crosswind. Differences inweed population and visual weed cover rankings when comparing single-cultivation with broadcast-only strategies variedwith years. Grain yield from a treatment using a single cultivation with a low-crown sweep and a 38-cm (15-in.) wideherbicide band was statistically equivalent to that from a broadcast-only treatment in all three years. Results of this studyindicate that herbicide use can be halved and weed control and corn yield can be maintained by use of a 38 cm (15 in.)herbicide band and a single sweep cultivation.
DOI: 10.13031/2013.5220
Authors: H. M. Hanna, R. G. Hartzler, D. C. Erbach
Institution: Iowa State University
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2008735421