Weed Control in Nursery Crop Cutting Propagation
Abstract
Weeds are a major problem in cutting propagation and compete with the main crop for water, sunlight, and nutrients and hence reduce the growth and marketable quality of the crops. Due to the high labor cost of hand weeding, pre-emergence herbicides and mulches can be alternative methods for weed control in the propagation environment. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of pre-emergence herbicides and mulches in stem cutting root development and weed control. Cuttings of ‘Nanho Blue’ butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii ‘Nanho Blue’), ‘Dwarf Burford’ holly (Ilex cornuta ‘Dwarf Burford’), and 'Mariesii' viburnum (Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum 'Mariesii'), ‘Catawba’ crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica ‘Catawba’), ‘Phantom’ hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata ’Phantom’) and the weed species oxalis (Oxalis corniculata), large crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis), bittercress (Cardamine hirsute), and mulberry weed (Fatoua villosa) were used in the study. Among all the pre-emergence herbicides, oxyfluorfen + oxadiazon was found to be safe in most of the crop species and also provided broad spectrum weed control. Furthermore, isoxaben, isoxaben+dithiopyr and flumioxazin are effective in controlling broadleaf weeds. Isoxaben and isoxaben+dithiopyr reduced rooting in butterfly bush, but they did not have any negative effects on other crop species used in the study. Among all the mulches used in the study we found that pine pellets can be a good option for controlling weeds invipropagation without affecting the rooting of the cuttings. Paper pellets also provided good results on suppressing weed populations without affecting the rooting of cuttings (except crape myrtle). The results from our study will provide growers with additional methods of controlling weeds in propagation while maintaining healthy and high-quality rooted cuttings.
Subject Area
Plant sciences
Recommended Citation
Isha Poudel,
"Weed Control in Nursery Crop Cutting Propagation"
(2021).
ETD Collection for Tennessee State University.
Paper AAI28646945.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI28646945