Abstract
Synthetic herbicides are commonly used in weed management, however, 70 years of use has led to weed resistance and environmental concerns. These problems have led scientists to consider alternative methods of weed management in order to reduce the inputs and impacts of synthetic herbicides. The aim of this experiment was to test the level of weed control using four weeding methods: glyphosate applied at an ultra-low volume, the organic herbicide nonanoic acid, flaming, and hot foam. The results showed that weed control was effective only when flaming and hot foam were applied (99% and 100% weed control, respectively). Nonanoic acid at a dose of 11 kg a.i. ha−1 diluted in 400 L of water did not control developed plants of Cyperus esculentus (L.), Convolvulus arvensis (L.) and Poa annua (L.). Glyphosate at a dose of 1080 g a.i. ha−1 (pure product) only controlled P. annua (L.), but had no effect on C. esculentus (L.) and C. arvensis (L.). After the aboveground tissues of weeds had died, regrowth began earlier after flaming compared to hot foam. There was no regrowth of P. annua (L.) only after using hot foam and glyphosate. Hot foam was generally better at damaging the meristems of the weeds. In one of the two experiment sites, significantly more time was needed after the hot foam to recover 10% and 50% of the ground compared to flaming. The time needed to recover 90% of the ground was on average 26–27 days for flaming and hot foam, which is the time that is assumed to be required before repeating the application. A total of 29 days after the treatments, weeds were smaller after flaming, glyphosate and hot foam compared to nonanoic acid and the control, where they had more time to grow.
Highlights
Synthetic herbicides are commonly used in weed management, after 70 years of use, this has led to weed resistance [1,2] and environmental concerns [3]
The time needed to recover 90% of the ground was on average 26–27 days for flaming and hot foam, which is the time that is assumed to be required before repeating the application
The effectiveness of a herbicide should increase if the droplet size is reduced [4], a dose of 1080 g a.i. glyphosate per ha−1 was probably not high enough to control C. esculentus (L.) and C. arvensis (L.), whereas this dose was effective against
Summary
Synthetic herbicides are commonly used in weed management, after 70 years of use, this has led to weed resistance [1,2] and environmental concerns [3]. These problems have stimulated scientists into investigating alternatives and integrated systems of weed management to reduce the inputs and impacts of synthetic herbicides [3]. Glyphosate applied in low water volumes means that lower doses of herbicides can be used on more sensitive weed species, but it improves the herbicide activity on weed species that are difficult to control [7]. Rotary atomizers distribute large quantities of small droplets efficiently, enabling a less active ingredient to be applied compared to conventional water-based methods using emulsifiable concentrate formulations [5,6].
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