Utility of glufosinate in postemergence row middle weed control in Florida plasticulture production

Herbicides are the foundation for row-middle weed control in Florida plasticulture production. Paraquat is commonly used as a burndown herbicide, and resistance issues have subsequently developed. Halosulfuron is mixed with PRE and POST herbicides to provide additional control of nutsedge. The objective of the study was to determine glufosinate efficacy on weeds emerging in the row-middle and suitability in mixture with halosulfuron for nutsedge control. For total weed control, the high dose of glufosinate (983 g ai ha⁻¹) gave the highest overall control (98% and 64% at 4 wk after treatment for experiments 1 and 2, respectively), and the low rate of glufosinate (656 g ha⁻¹) (67% and 39%) gave results comparable to paraquat (57% and 44%). The high glufosinate dose and paraquat gave comparable control of Brazil pusley (74% to 77% control). Glufosinate + halosulfuron mixture had lower efficacy on Brazil pusley than halosulfuron + paraquat mixture. Glufosinate application reduced grass densities, whereas paraquat did not. Increasing the glufosinate dose did not further decrease grass densities. Similar trends in grass control were also demonstrated in their respective mixtures. Mixing halosulfuron with glufosinate or paraquat did not provide consistent reductions in nutsedge densities, nor did adding paraquat or glufosinate further reduce densities compared with halosulfuron alone for the 4-wk study period. Both paraquat and glufosinate antagonized halosulfuron and reduced efficacy on nutsedge. Compared to controls, there was a reduction between expected and actual nutsedge control for paraquat and glufosinate (25% and 36%), respectively. For total weed control, glufosinate is a suitable alternative to paraquat for row-middle weed management in vegetable production. Nomenclature: Glufosinate; halosulfuron; paraquat; Brazil pusley, Richardia brasiliensis Gomes RCHBR; nutsedge, Cyperus spp.