Control and Ecology of Weeds in Continuous Corn Grown Without Tillage

Abstract

Corn (Zea mays L.) was grown continuously without tillage (no-tillage) and with conventional tillage for 7 years to evaluate several herbicides for use in both crop culture systems. The only consistently satisfactory herbicide combinations for the no-tillage corn were 2-chloro-4,6-bis(ethylamino)-s-triazine (simazine) and 1,1′-dimethyl-4,4′bipyridinium ion (paraquat) or 2-chloro-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine (atrazine), simazine, and paraquat. Annual weed population shifted rapidly with different herbicide systems; fall panicum (Panicum dichotomiflorum Michx.) was the major annual weed where triazines were used as the residual herbicide. After several years of corn grown with no-tillage, hempdogbane (Apocynum cannabinum L.) became a significant problem in some plots. Corn yields with no-tillage were equal to yields in tilled areas provided weed control was satisfactory.