Combining Cultural Practices and Herbicides to Control Wild-Proso Millet (Panicum miliaceum)

Abstract

Field studies evaluated the effects of crop, crop rotation, planting date, row spacing, no-till planting, and herbicides on wild-proso millet control. Benefin and EPTC reduced wild-proso millet biomass in new seedings of alfalfa, and the combination of herbicides and forage harvest prevented wild-proso millet seed production in that crop. Wild-proso millet seedling populations were reduced and corn yields increased when corn followed 1 to 4 yr of alfalfa. Apparent effectiveness of herbicides in corn increased after cropping with alfalfa. Germination of buried wild-proso millet seed decreased approximately 90% after 54 months which is equivalent to 4-yr prior cropping to alfalfa. Wild-proso millet control and field and sweet corn yields increased when the crops were planted late season (May 17) rather than early season (April 27). Planting sweet corn in rows spaced 76 cm rather than 108 cm apart also increased sweet corn yields. EPTC plus dichlormid (EPTC+) plus cyanazine always controlled wild-proso millet equal to or better than EPTC+alone. When field corn was planted no-till into killed alfalfa sod, combinations of pendimethalin plus simazine and pendimethalin plus cyanazine provided the best wild-proso millet control and corn yields. But the following year when corn was no-till planted into corn stubble of the identical plots, wild-proso millet control from the same treatments tended to be lower and corn yields were reduced.