Greenhouse Screening of Corn Gluten Meal as a Natural Control Product for Broadleaf and Grass Weeds

Abstract

Corn (Zea mays L.) gluten meal (CGM) was evaluated under greenhouse conditions for efficacy on 22 selected monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous weed species. Corn gluten meal was applied at 0, 324, 649, and 973 g·m–2 and as a soil-surface preemergence (PRE) and preplant-incorporated (PPI) weed control product. CGM reduced plant survival, shoot length, and root development of all tested species. Black nightshade (Solanum nigrum L.), common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album L.), creeping bentgrass (Agrostis palustris Huds.), curly dock (Rumex crispus L.), purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.), and redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.) were the most susceptible species. Plant survival and root development for these species were reduced by ≥75%, and shoot length was decreased by >50% when treated PRE and PPI with 324 g CGM/m2. Catchweed bedstraw (Galium aparine L.), dandelion (Taraxacum officinale Weber), giant foxtail (Setaria faberi Herrm.), and smooth crabgrass [Digitaria ischaemum (Schreb.) Schreb. ex Muhl] exhibited survival and shoot length reductions >50% and an 80% reduction in root development when treated with PPI CGM at 324 g·m–2. Barnyardgrass [Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv.] and velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti Medic.) were the least susceptible species showing survival reductions ≤31% when treated with 324 g CGM/m2.