Banana Pepper Response and Annual Weed Control with S-metolachlor and Clomazone

Abstract

Field experiments were conducted at the North Central Agricultural Research Station in Fremont, OH, in 2006 and 2007, to evaluate tolerance of banana pepper to S-metolachlor and clomazone, and the efficacy of these herbicides on green and giant foxtail, common lambsquarters, and common purslane. The crop was machine-transplanted in late spring of each year. Pretransplant (PRETP) herbicide treatments included two S-metolachlor rates (534 and 1,070 g ai ha−1), two clomazone rates (560 and 1,120 g ai ha−1), and four tank mixes of S-metolachlor plus clomazone (534 + 560 g ha−1, 1,070 + 560 g ha−1, 534 + 1,120 g ha−1, and 1,070 + 1,120 g ha−1). Crop injury and weed control data were collected at 2 and 4 wk after treatment (WAT). The crop was harvested two times from August to September. Minor crop injury was observed at 2 WAT only in 2006 and in plots treated with S-metolachlor, alone or in combination with clomazone. In 2007, slight crop injury at 6 WAT in most herbicide-treated plots was mostly related to weeds that grew regardless of herbicide treatment. In general, S-metolachlor provided less weed control than did clomazone or tank mixes of S-metolachlor plus clomazone. Clomazone did not reduce yield of banana pepper. Registration of clomazone would provide banana pepper growers an opportunity to control weeds caused by late emergence or poor initial control following a burndown herbicide application.