Weed Control and Potato (Solanum tuberosum) Yield with Banded Herbicides and Cultivation¹

Experiments compared the effect on weed control and potato yield of banded applications of metolachlor plus linuron with or without flex-tine, rolling, and shovel cultivation prior to hilling. Cultivation without banded herbicide resulted in greater prehilling in- and between-row weed densities and reduced late-season weed control as compared to broadcast herbicides or cultivation with banded herbicides. Although the flex-tine and rolling cultivators were expected to provide improved in-row weed control, there were few differences between these and the other cultivation implements. Despite reduced weed control with cultivation alone, potato yields were not reduced.Nomenclature: Linuron, N′-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-N-methoxy-N-methylurea; metolachlor, 2-chloro-N-(2-ethyl-6-methylphenyl)-N-(2-methoxy-1-methylethyl)acetamide; common lambsquarters, Chenopodium album L. #3 CHEAL; large crabgrass, Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop. # DIGSA; redroot pigweed, Amaranthus retroflexus L. # AMARE; yellow foxtail, Setaria glauca (L.) Beauv. # SETLU; potato, Solanum tuberosum L. ‘Katahdin’.Additional index words: Flex-tine cultivator, herbicide reduction, mechanical weed control.Abbreviations: DAP, days after planting.