EVALUATION OF HERBICIDES FOR WEED CONTROL IN POTATO

Joel Felix

Malheur Experiment Station

Oregon State University

Ontario, OR, 2009

Introduction

A field study was conducted in 2009 at the Malheur Experiment Station near Ontario, Oregon to evaluate herbicides for weed control in potato. The field previously planted to wheat was moldboard plowed, disked, fumigated, and bedded on 36-inch spacing in the fall preceding the trial. The study followed a randomized complete block design with four replications. Potato seed pieces (2 oz) for variety 'Ranger Russet' were cut on April 8 and treated with Tops-MZ-Gaucho^® as a preventive measure against insects and diseases and placed in storage to suberize. Potatoes were planted on April 29 using a 2-row assist feed planter with 9-inch spacing within the row on 36-inch spaced beds. On April 29, potato rows were side-dressed with a fertilizer blend to supply 155 lb/acre nitrogen, 78 lb/acre phosphate, and 24 lb/acre sulfur, 4 lb/acre manganese, and 1 lb/acre boron. The beds were later rehilled using a Lilliston rolling cultivator. Plots were sprayed with azoxystrobin + chlorothalonil at 1.1 lb ai/acre (Quadris Opti^®, 1.6 pt/acre) fungicide using an airplane on June 11 as a preventative measure against diseases. Herbicide treatments were applied pre-emergence (PRE) on May 18 and POST on June 25 using a CO₂-pressurized backpack sprayer with a boom equipped with 8002EVS nozzles. Potatoes were treated with mancozeb at 1.5 lb ai/acre (Dithane^®, DF 2 lb/acre) on June 23 through sprinkler irrigation.

Irrigation was scheduled based on six Watermark soil moisture sensors (Irrometer Co., Riverside, CA) connected to an AM400 data logger (M.K. Hansen Co., Wenatchee, WA) that recorded soil water tension at seed-piece depth. Irrigations were managed to prevent the soil at the seed-piece depth from drying beyond 60 kPa soil water tension. Treatments were visually evaluated for crop damage and weed control using a 0-100 percent scale (0 = no crop injury/no weed control and 100 = complete crop damage/excellent weed control) at 8, 22, and 45, and 66 days after PRE treatment (DAT). Field and herbicide application information is presented in Table 1. Potato vines were flailed on August 22 and tubers harvested on August 30 using a single-row mechanical harvester. Potato tubers were harvested from a 20-ft length of a single row to determine yield. Tubers were stored in a barn until October 16 when they were graded using USDA standards. Data were subjected to analysis of variance and means were compared using Fisher's protected least significant difference (LSD) at P = 0.05.

Results

Visual evaluations at 8 days after treatment (DAT) indicated an average of 28 percent injury for plants treated with KSU12800 herbicide and 0 percent for the other herbicides (Table 2). Potato injury was characterized by entire leaf chlorosis on newly emerged leaves. All herbicides provided 96 to 100 percent control for common lambsquarters and pigweed species. Control for hairy nightshade was 94 percent for plots treated with KIH-485 at 1.5 and 2.5 oz/acre.

Potato injury at 22 DAT averaged 19 percent for plants treated with KSU12800 and 0 percent for the other herbicides tested (Table 3). Potato injury symptoms were still evident on older leaves while new young leaves were green and normal. Control for common lambsquarters and pigweed species was still high and ranged from 95 to 100 percent. Saflufenacil and KSU12800 provided the least barnyardgrass control, averaging 75 and 85 percent, respectively.

Visual evaluations at 45 DAT indicated consistently high control for common lambsquarters and pigweed species (Table 4). Control for hairy nightshade was 100 percent for all tested herbicides. Potato injury from KSU12800 had subsided to an average of 4 percent. Control of barnyardgrass with KSU12800 and saflufenacil was relatively low compared to other treatments. Tank-mixing saflufenacil with dimethenamid-p (Outlook^®) or another herbicide with activity on grasses would undoubtedly improve control of grass weeds.

Weed control at 66 DAT was 100 percent for common lambsquarters and hairy nightshade (Table 5). Control for pigweed species and barnyardgrass was reduced for KSU12800 at 20 oz/acre and saflufenacil (Sharpen) at 1.98 oz/acre. U.S. No. 1 potato yield varied among treatments (Table 6) with KSU12800 at 30 oz/acre resulting in the lowest yield compared to other herbicides. The reduction in yield for saflufenacil was due to weed competition and not a direct effect of herbicide injury. The tested herbicides have a potential to control weeds in potato in the future. The study will be repeated in the 2010 growing season.

Table 1. Soil and herbicide application information on Ranger Russet potato at the Malheur Experiment Station, Ontario, OR, 2009.

Crop	Potato			PRE	POST
Variety	Russet Ranger		Date	5/18/09	6/25/09
Planting date	April 24, 2009		Time	11AM	10AM
Soil type	Owyhee Silt Loam		Temp. (air) (°F)	86.5	81.2
pH	6.7		Temp. (soil) (°F)	70.7	65.9
Organic matter (%)	1.69		Rel. humidity (%)	20	34
CEC (meq/kg)	10		Wind speed (mph)	2.3	1.7
Irrigation			Wind direction	SW	SE
May 21	7 hrs		Nozzle type	Flat fan	Flat fan
June 23, 29	8, 10 hrs		Nozzle size	8002EVS	8002EVS
July 3, 7, 11, 17, 22, 28	10, 8, 10, 8, 10, 8hrs		Spray vol.(gpa)	20	20
August 3, 7, 18	Rain, 8, 6 hrs		Spray speed (mph)	3	3
September 3, 11	6, 5 hrs		Boom height (inches)	18	18

Table 2. Weed control in potato 8 days after pre-emergence herbicide application at the Malheur Experiment Station, Ontario, OR, 2009.

						Weed control1
Treatment	Rate		Timing	Crop injury		Common lambsquarters		Hairy nightshade		Pigweed spp.
				------------------------------- % -------------------------------
Untreated control				0	b	0	c	0	c	0	b
Dual Magnum	1.33	pt/a	PRE	0	b	100	a	100	a	100	a
Prowl H2O	1.58	pt/a	PRE
Eptam	4.5	pt/a
Targa	5	oz/a	POST
COC2	1.6	pt/a	POST
Dual Magnum	1.33	pt/a	PRE	0	b	99	ab	96	ab	99	a
Prowl H2O	1.58	pt/a
Eptam	4.5	pt/a
Targa	7	oz/a	POST
COC	1.6	pt/a	POST
Dual Magnum	1.33	pt/a	PRE	0	b	100	a	98	ab	100	a
Prowl H2O	1.58	pt/a
Eptam	4.5	pt/a
Select Max	6	oz/a	POST
COC	1.6	pt/a	POST
KIH-485 (Pyroxasulfone)	1.5	oz/a	PRE	0	b	100	a	94	b	100	a
KIH-485 (Pyroxasulfone)	2.5	oz/a	PRE	0	b	96	b	94	b	96	a
BAS 800 (Saflufenacil)	1.98	oz/a	PRE	0	b	100	a	100	a	98	a
KSU12800	20	oz/a	PRE	28	a	98	ab	99	a	99	a
KSU12800	30	oz/a	PRE	29	a	96	b	96	ab	98	a
KSU12800	20	oz/a	PRE	28	a	100	a	99	a	100	a
Dual Magnum	1.05	pt/a	PRE

¹Means followed by same letter do not significantly differ (P = 0.05, LSD).

²COC = crop oil concentrate.

Table 3. Weed control in potato 22 days after pre-emergence herbicide application at the Malheur Experiment Station, Ontario, OR, 2009.

Weed control1

Treatment

Rate

Timing

Crop injury

Common lambsquarters

Hairy nightshade

Pigweed spp.

Barnyardgrass

------------------------------------- % -------------------------------------

Untreated control

0

b

0

b

0

c

0

c

0

d

Dual Magnum

1.33

pt/a

PRE

0

b

100

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

Prowl H2O

1.58

pt/a

PRE

Eptam

4.5

pt/a

Targa

5

oz/a

POST

COC2

1.6

pt/a

POST

Dual Magnum

1.33

pt/a

PRE

0

b

100

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

Prowl H2O

1.58

pt/a

Eptam

4.5

pt/a

Targa

7

oz/a

POST

COC

1.6

pt/a

POST

Dual Magnum

1.33

pt/a

PRE

0

b

100

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

Prowl H2O

1.58

pt/a

Eptam

4.5

pt/a

Select Max

6

oz/a

POST

COC

1.6

pt/a

POST

KIH-485 (Pyroxasulfone)

1.5

oz/a

PRE

0

b

100

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

KIH-485 (Pyroxasulfone)

2.5

oz/a

PRE

0

b

100

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

BAS 800 (Saflufenacil)

1.98

oz/a

PRE

0

b

100

a

100

a

95

b

75

c

KSU12800

20

oz/a

PRE

18

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

84

bc

KSU12800

30

oz/a

PRE

19

a

100

a

99

a

99

a

89

b

KSU12800

20

oz/a

PRE

19

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

81

bc

Dual Magnum

1.05

pt/a

PRE

¹Means followed by same letter do not significantly differ (P = 0.05, LSD).

²COC = crop oil concentrate.

Table 4. Weed control in potato 45 days after pre-emergence herbicide application at the Malheur Experiment Station, Ontario, OR, 2009.

Weed control1

Treatment

Rate

Timing

Crop injury

Common lambsquarters

Hairy nightshade

Pigweed spp

Barnyardgrass

------------------------------------- % -------------------------------------

Untreated control

0

c

0

b

0

b

0

c

0

c

Dual Magnum

1.33

pt/a

PRE

0

c

100

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

Prowl H2O

1.58

pt/a

PRE

Eptam

4.5

pt/a

Targa

5

oz/a

POST

COC2

1.6

pt/a

POST

Dual Magnum

1.33

pt/a

PRE

0

c

100

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

Prowl H2O

1.58

pt/a

Eptam

4.5

pt/a

Targa

7

oz/a

POST

COC

1.6

pt/a

POST

Dual Magnum

1.33

pt/a

PRE

0

c

100

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

Prowl H2O

1.58

pt/a

Eptam

4.5

pt/a

Select Max

6

oz/a

POST

COC

1.6

pt/a

POST

KIH-485 (Pyroxasulfone)

1.5

oz/a

PRE

0

c

100

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

KIH-485 (Pyroxasulfone)

2.5

oz/a

PRE

0

c

100

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

BAS 800 (Saflufenacil)

1.98

oz/a

PRE

0

c

100

a

100

a

98

a

90

b

KSU12800

20

oz/a

PRE

2

b

100

a

100

a

93

b

98

a

KSU12800

30

oz/a

PRE

5

a

100

a

100

a

93

b

89

b

KSU12800

20

oz/a

PRE

5

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

Dual Magnum

1.05

pt/a

PRE

¹Means followed by same letter do not significantly differ (P = 0.05, LSD).

²COC = crop oil concentrate.

Table 5. Weed control in potato 66 days after pre-emergence herbicide application at the Malheur Experiment Station, Ontario, OR, 2009.

Weed control1

Treatment

Rate

Timing

Crop injury

Common lambsquarters

Hairy nightshade

Pigweed spp.

Barnyardgrass

--------------------------------- % ---------------------------------

Untreated control

0

a

0

b

0

b

0

d

0

c

Dual Magnum

1.33

pt/a

PRE

0

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

Prowl H2O

1.58

pt/a

PRE

Eptam

4.5

pt/a

Targa

5

oz/a

POST

COC2

1.6

pt/a

POST

Dual Magnum

1.33

pt/a

PRE

0

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

Prowl H2O

1.58

pt/a

Eptam

4.5

pt/a

Targa

7

oz/a

POST

COC

1.6

pt/a

POST

Dual Magnum

1.33

pt/a

PRE

0

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

Prowl H2O

1.58

pt/a

Eptam

4.5

pt/a

Select Max

6

oz/a

POST

COC

1.6

pt/a

POST

KIH-485 (Pyroxasulfone)

1.5

oz/a

PRE

0

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

KIH-485 (Pyroxasulfone)

2.5

oz/a

PRE

0

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

BAS 800 (Saflufenacil)

1.98

oz/a

PRE

0

a

100

a

100

a

98

b

93

b

KSU12800

20

oz/a

PRE

0

a

100

a

100

a

99

ab

99

a

KSU12800

30

oz/a

PRE

0

a

100

a

100

a

95

c

93

b

KSU12800

20

oz/a

PRE

0

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

100

a

Dual Magnum

1.05

pt/a

PRE

¹Means followed by same letter do not significantly differ (P = 0.05, LSD).

²COC = crop oil concentrate.