Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons^™

Evaluating The Current Weed Community In Wild Blueberry Fields And Ipm Strategies For Spreading Dogbane (Apocynum Androsaemifolium), Anthony G. Ayers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) is Maine’s third largest crop (USDA 2020 a). From 2017 – 2019 the three seasons yield average was 27,200 tons were harvested from 19,500 acres for a value of $22,468,000 (USDA 2020 c). Lowbush blueberries are managed on a two-year cycle. Every other year, lowbush blueberry fields are pruned to the ground either through the use of a tractor mounted flail mower or a prescribed burn (Yarborough 2009). Pruning is a necessary part of managing lowbush blueberries as the second-year growth produces the highest yield but steadily declines in subsequent years (Drummond et al. …

Band-Sowing With Hoeing For Weed Management In Organic Grains, Margaret R. Mccollough

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Weeds remain the foremost production challenge for organic small grain growers in the Northeastern United States. Instead of sowing crops in narrow, single-line rows, band-sowing with inter-band hoeing is a cropping strategy that could provide superior weed control. In theory, band-sowing suppresses weeds in the intra-band zone by improving the spatial arrangement of the crop from that of typical rows to a more uniform pattern within the planted bands, maximizing interspecific and reducing intraspecific competition. Weeds in the inter-band zone are controlled by cultivating with aggressive sweeps; tine harrowing can target weeds in the intra- and inter-band zones.

Chapter one …

Reducing Tillage In Small-Scale Permanent Bed Organic Vegetable Production Systems, Jeremiah D. Vallotton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The response of field-grown vegetable crops to reduced tillage and mulching in permanent beds was evaluated through measuring crop yields, weed pressure, earthworm counts, and soil basal respiration. Two vegetable crops (“Bush Delicata” squash and “Farao” cabbage) were started in April and May of 2016 and 2017 respectively, transplanted in late June, and harvested on 15-Sep-2016 and 25-Aug-2017. Fruit number and weight of squash, and head weight and feeding damage of cabbage were measured. These results suggest that intensive tillage (8” rototill every year) can be successfully reduced to alternating years of shallow (2”) rototilling and a less intensive form …

Air-Propelled Organic Fertilizer Grits Can Be Used To Control Weeds And Provide Nitrogen, Michael Carlson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Weeds are one of the biggest challenges for organic growers because of the alternative weed control methods. Air-propelled abrasive grit management has been reported to control weed seedlings in corn and soybeans while maintaining yield. This research examined the weed control, corn and soybean yields, nitrogen mineralization, and nitrogen yield responses from grits. The grits used in this research included: Phytaboost Plant Food 7-1-2 (soybean meal), Sustane 8-2-4 and 4-6-4 (turkey litters), and two non-fertilizer grits: Agra Grit (walnut shells) and corn cob meal. Field studies were conducted from 2015 to 2017 in Aurora, SD, Beresford, SD and Morris, MN. …

Palmer Amaranth In South Dakota: Growth, Herbicidal Control, And Soybean Yield Loss, Brian Van De Stroet

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Palmer amaranth is a growing concern in the United States. Previously thought to only be able to occupy the southern United States, this plant can now be found throughout the northern states as well. Infestations of Palmer amaranth can now be found in South Dakota and is raising many concerns. Palmer amaranth is characterized by large growth and can be highly competitive with many important crops. Soybean is an important crop in South Dakota, as well as the rest of the world, and has not escaped the detrimental aspects of an infestation of Palmer amaranth. The objectives of this study …

Sources Of Variability In Agronomic Weed Seed Predation: Time, Space, Habitat, And Hyperpredation, Sonja K. Birthisel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Weed seed predation is an ecosystem service that benefits farmers by decreasing seedbank inputs, thereby reducing weed pressure in subsequent growing seasons. Seed predation can be considerable, but is highly variable. Sources of variability may include time, space, habitat, and trophic interactions such as hyperpredation. Two experiments were conducted to measure the impacts of these sources of variability on weed seed predation rates in Maine mixed vegetable agroecosystems.

Chapter One of this thesis describes a series of landscape-level field experiments conducted to quantify the effects of time, space, and habitat on seed predation rates. Seed assays, with and without vertebrate …