Emergence pattern and periodicity of Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri) populations from southcentral Great Plains

Abstract

Abstract Evolution of multiple herbicide–resistant Palmer amaranth warrants the development of integrated strategies for its control in the southcentral Great Plains (SGP). To develop effective control strategies, a better understanding of the emergence biology of Palmer amaranth populations from the SGP region is needed. A common garden study was conducted in a no-till (NT) fallow field at the Kansas State University Agricultural Research Center near Hays, KS, during the 2018 and 2019 growing seasons, to determine the emergence pattern and periodicity of Palmer amaranth populations collected from the SGP region. Nine Palmer amaranth populations collected from five states were included: Colorado (CO1, CO2), Oklahoma (OK), Kansas (KS1, KS2), Texas (TX), and Nebraska (NE1, NE2, NE3). During the 2018 growing season, the CO1 and KS1 populations displayed more rapid emergence rates, with greater parameter b values (−5.4, and −5.3, respectively), whereas the TX and NE3 populations had the highest emergence rates (b = −12.2) in the 2019 growing season. The cumulative growing degree days (cGDD) required to achieve 10%, 50%, and 90% cumulative emergence ranged from 125 to 144, 190 to 254, and 285 to 445 in 2018; and 54 to 74, 88 to 160, and 105 to 420 in the 2019 growing season across all tested populations, respectively. The OK population exhibited the longest emergence duration (301 and 359 cGDD) in both growing seasons. All tested Palmer amaranth populations had a peak emergence period between May 11 and June 8 in 2018, and April 30 and June 1 in the 2019 growing season. Altogether, these results indicate the existence of differential emergence pattern and peak emergence periods of geographically distant Palmer amaranth populations from the SGP region. This information will help in developing prediction models for decision-making tools to manage Palmer amaranth in the region.