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Squash (Cucurbita pepo) producers could benefit from additional herbicide options that are safe to the crop and provide effective weed control. Research was conducted in southeastern Oklahoma (Atoka County, Lane, OK) during 2010 and 2011 to determine the impact of pelargonic acid (PA) on weed control efficacy, crop injury, and squash yields. The experiment included PA applied unshielded postdirected at 5, 10, and 15 lb/acre, plus an untreated weedy control and an untreated weed-free control. ‘Enterprise’ yellow squash was direct-seeded in single rows into raised beds. Weeds included smooth crabgrass (Digitaria ischaemum), cutleaf groundcherry (Physalis angulata), spiny amaranth (Amaranthus spinosus), and yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus). Pelargonic acid was applied each year in mid-July and then reapplied 8 days later. The maximum smooth crabgrass control (98%), broadleaf weed control (94%), and yellow nutsedge control (41%) was observed with the 15-lb/acre PA treatment at 9 days after initial spray treatment (DAIT), 1 day after sequential treatment (1 DAST). Pelargonic acid at 15 lb/acre provided equal or slightly greater smooth crabgrass and broadleaf (cutleaf groundcherry and spiny amaranth) control compared with the 10-lb/acre application, and consistently greater control than the 5-lb/acre rate and the weedy control. Pelargonic acid was less effective at controlling yellow nutsedge than smooth crabgrass and broadleaf weeds. Yellow nutsedge control peaked at 9 DAIT (1 DAST) with 10-lb/acre PA (41%). As the rate of PA increased from 5 to 15 lb/acre, yellow nutsedge control also increased significantly for all observation dates, except for 28 DAIT. Increasing the PA application rate increased the crop injury rating at 1 and 3 days after each application (1 and 3 DAIT, 1 and 3 DAST). Maximum squash injury occurred for each application rate at 9 DAIT (1 DAST) with 4.4%, 8.0%, and 12.5% injury for PA rates 5, 10, and 15 lb/acre, respectively. The 10-lb/acre PA treatment produced the highest squash yields (kilograms per hectare) and fruit number (fruit per hectare) compared with either the 5- or 15-lb/acre rates, and equivalent yields and fruit number as the hand-weeded weed-free treatment. The 10-lb/acre PA rate applied in a timely sequential application has the potential of providing good weed control with minimal crop injury resulting in yields equivalent to weed-free hand-weeding conditions.

Pepper (Capsicum annuum) producers would benefit from additional herbicide options that are safe to the crop and provide effective weed control. Research was conducted in southeastern Oklahoma (Atoka County, Lane, OK) during 2010 and 2011 to determine the impact of pelargonic acid on weed control efficacy, crop injury, and pepper yields. The experiment included pelargonic acid applied unshielded postdirected at 5, 10, and 15 lb/acre, plus an untreated weedy control and an untreated weed-free control. ‘Jupiter’ sweet bell pepper, a tobacco mosaic virus-resistant sweet pepper with a 70-day maturity, was transplanted into single rows on 3-ft centered raised beds with 18 inches between plants (9680 plants/acre) on 28 May 2010 and 27 May 2011, respectively. Weeds included smooth crabgrass (Digitaria ischaemum), cutleaf groundcherry (Physalis angulata), spiny amaranth (Amaranthus spinosus), and yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus). Pelargonic acid was applied postdirected each year in mid-June and then reapplied 8 days later. The 15-lb/acre pelargonic acid treatment resulted in the maximum smooth crabgrass control (56%) and broadleaf weed control (66%) at 1 day after the initial spray treatment (DAIT), and 33% yellow nutsedge control at 3 DAIT. Pelargonic acid at 15 lb/acre provided equal or slightly greater smooth crabgrass and broadleaf (cutleaf groundcherry and spiny amaranth) control compared with the 10-lb/acre application, and consistently greater control than the 5-lb/acre rate and the weedy control. Pelargonic acid was less effective at controlling yellow nutsedge than smooth crabgrass and broadleaf weeds. As the rate of pelargonic acid increased from 5 to 15 lb/acre, yellow nutsedge control also increased significantly for all observation dates. Increasing the pelargonic acid application rate increased the crop injury rating. The maximum crop injury occurred for each application rate at 1 DAIT with 7%, 8.0%, and 13.8% injury for pelargonic acid rates 5, 10, and 15 lb/acre, respectively. There was little or no new crop injury after the second postdirected application of pelargonic acid and crop injury following 3 DAIT for application rates was 2% or less. Only the 15-lb/acre pelargonic acid application produced greater fruit per hectare (4784 fruit/ha) and yields (58.65 kg·ha⁻¹) than the weedy control (1196 fruit/ha and 19.59 kg·ha⁻¹). The weed-free yields (7176 fruit/ha, 178.11 kg·ha⁻¹, and 24.82 g/fruit) were significantly greater than all pelargonic acid treatments and the weedy control. Pelargonic acid provided unsatisfactory weed control for all rates and did not significantly benefit from the sequential applications. The authors suggest the pelargonic acid be applied to smaller weeds to increase the weed control to acceptable levels (>80%).

Corn gluten meal (CGM) is a non-selective preemergence or preplant-incorporated herbicide that inhibits root development, decreases shoot length, and reduces plant survival. The development of a mechanized application system for the banded placement of CGM between crop rows (seed row not treated) has increased its potential use in organic vegetable production, especially in direct-seeded vegetables. The objective of this research was to determine the impact of CGM applications (formulations, rates, incorporation, and banded applications) on direct-seeded squash (Cucurbita pepo) plant survival and yields. Neither CGM formulation (powdered or granulated) nor incorporation method (incorporated or non-incorporated) resulted in significant differences in plant survival or squash yields. When averaged across all other factors (formulations, incorporation method, and banding), CGM rates of 250 to 750 g·m⁻² reduced squash survival from 70% to 44%, and squash yields from 6402 to 4472 kg·ha⁻¹. However, the banded application (CGM placed between rows) resulted in significantly greater crop safety (75% survival) and yield (6402 kg·ha⁻¹) than the broadcast (non-banded) applications (35% survival and 4119 kg·ha⁻¹ yield). It was demonstrated that banded applications of CGM can be useful in direct-seeded squash production and other organic direct-seeded vegetables.