Crop Safety and Weed Control of Foliar Application of Penoxsulam in Foxtail Millet

Abstract

Grass damage has become an important factor restricting foxtail millet production; chemical weeding can help resolve this issue. However, special herbicides in foxtail millet fields are lacking. Penoxsulam has a broad weed control spectrum and a good control effect. In this project, Jingu 21 was used as the test material, and five different concentrations of penoxsulam were used for spraying test in the three–five leaf stage. In this experiment, the effects on the growth of foxtail millet were discussed by measuring the agronomic characters and antioxidant capacity of foxtail millet after spraying penoxsulam. The results showed that: (1) penoxsulam is particularly effective in controlling Amaranthus retroflexus L. (A. retroflexus) and Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv. (E. crus-galli), but is ineffective in controlling Chenopodium album L. (C. album) and Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop. (D. sanguinalis); (2) the stem diameter, fresh weight, and dry weight of the above-ground parts decreased with the increase in spraying amount; (3) as the spraying dosage increased, the superoxide (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) activities in the foxtail millet initially increased and subsequently decreased; the malonaldehyde (MDA) content increased. Our experiment found that 1/2X and 1X spraying dosages had certain application value in controlling gramineous weeds in foxtail millet field. Other spraying dosages are not recommended as they may harm the crops. Our findings provide reference for identifying new herbicides in the foxtail millet field.