Weeds have always been a menace to growers. The March issue of VSCNews magazine will give growers tips on how to best manage these nuisances.
Two articles in the March issue offer ideas for organic weed control. In the Organic Corner column, Parmeshwor Aryal, a postdoctoral associate, and Carlene A. Chase, an associate professor, both in the Horticultural Sciences Department at the University of Florida (UF) in Gainesville, discuss how cover crops can be a key tool for weed management.
In addition, Ramdas Kanissery and Yiannis Ampatzidis, assistant professors at the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee, share their study on steam weeding, an alternative non-chemical strategy for weed management.
Nathan Boyd, an associate professor at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, shares tools with tomato growers for weed management. He discusses the role of fumigants, plastic mulches, pre-emergence herbicides, post-emergence herbicides and hand weeding.
In a 2019 VSCNews article (http://specialtycropgrower.com/smart-sprayer-technology-for-better-weed-control/), the UF/IFAS smart sprayer technology using machine vision for Florida vegetable and strawberry crops was introduced. The precision sprayer can identify weeds and reduce herbicide use. In their new article, Arnold Schumann, Nathan Boyd, Shaun Sharpe and Jialin Yu share the results of herbicide spray trials that were conducted to control nutsedge in a tomato crop.
Vegetable growers know that developing a sound fumigation system is crucial. However, fumigant selection is only one piece of the puzzle. A.S. Culpepper, professor and Extension weed scientist in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia (UGA/CAES), looks at the vital steps to consider when developing a fumigation system.
Culpepper returns for another article with J.C. Vance, a crop and soil sciences research professional at UGA/CAES. Together, they discuss options for weed control in watermelons.
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