WEED RESEARCH CONTINUES

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Researchers continue to search for ways to control pesky late-emerging weeds that plague no-till farmers.

"Late-emerging weeds are no-till killers," says Joseph L. Matthews, researcher in Southern Illinois University at Carbondale's College of Agriculture.

He says early weeds in no-till corn are easily controlled with pre-plant soil herbicides, but weeds return later in the season. About 15 percent of the corn growers in Southern Illinois currently use no-till practices.

Matthews hopes to find a combination of existing herbicides and application techniques that will control weeds all season long in order to boost no-till yields.

"We have already found that early pre-plant applied herbicides only last about half of the season," said Matthews.

Most corn producers use cultivation to control weeds later in the summer.

"However, in cases where no-till is the only option, (areas prone to erosion) cultivation is out of the question," Matthews said.

He said rainfall also affects no-till weed control. Farmers count on rain to mix pre-plant herbicides with the soil; generally it rains more often in spring.

Research on no-till corn weed control will continue next season at SIUC. The project, researched by Matthews, is sponsored by the SIUC Department of Plant and Soil Science, under the supervision of professor George Kapusta.

Preliminary data from the study should be available by June.