Systems of Weed Control for Peanuts

Abstract

Systems of weed control composed of (a) herbicides only, (b) herbicides plus cultivation, or (c) cultivation only were devised. The most effective systems, involving herbicide sequences plus one “non-dirting” layby cultivation, controlled twelve troublesome species of weeds with acceptable yields of peanuts (Arachis hypogaea L.). On Greenville sandy clay loam, a particularly effective and economical system of weed control consisted of (a) N-butyl-N-ethyl-α,α,α-trifluoro-2,6-dinitro-p-toluidine (benefin) used as a preplanting incorporated treatment, then (b) S-propyl dipropylthiocarbamate (vernolate) either incorporated into the soil before planting or injected at planting, and finally, (c) a layby cultivation 5 to 6 weeks after planting. A similarly effective system on Tifton loamy sand involved vernolate injected at planting, 2-sec-butyl-4,6-dinitrophenol (dinoseb) at “cracking”, and 4-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)butyric acid (2,4-DB) as a postemergence treatment followed by the layby cultivation. The “non-dirting” layby cultivation, averaged over both years and herbicide sequences, significantly increased yields of peanuts on both soil types. None of the systems of weed control caused consistent differences in market grade, average weight per seed, germination, or organoleptic quality of the peanuts.