Common Lambsquarters (Chenopodium album) Control in Corn (Zea mays) with Postemergence Herbicides and Cultivation

Greenhouse studies assessed the susceptibility of three common lambsquarters biotypes to foliar-applied bromoxynil, dicamba, and thifensulfuron. Field studies evaluated the effectiveness of the same herbicides in conjunction with atrazine and row cultivation for the control of common lambsquarters in corn. In the field, bromoxynil was applied at 140, 280, and 420 g/ha, dicamba at 140, 280, and 560 g/ha, and thifensulfuron at 2, 3, and 4 g/ha. In the greenhouse, bromoxynil and thifensulfuron reduced common lambsquarters growth by at least 55%, while dicamba reduced growth 45% or less. Two of the three biotypes were resistant to atrazine. In the field, weed control was up to 70% better in cultivated plots than in noncultivated plots. Cultivation sometimes promoted additional weed emergence, but later emerging weeds rarely reached reproductive maturity. Atrazine improved the level of weed control only if triazine-susceptible weeds were present. The lowest rates of bromoxynil and dicamba (140 g/ha) controlled common lambsquarters 85% or greater even without cultivation, whereas control with the low rate of thifensulfuron (2 g/ha) was acceptable (greater than 85%) 8 wk after planting only in combination with cultivation. Combinations of reduced herbicide rates and mechanical cultivation provided effective, alternative control strategies for both triazine-resistant and susceptible common lambsquarters.