Fieldexperiment with spring rape (Brassica napus var. oleifera f. annua) cultivars Star andLisonne was conductedin the years 1995–1999 at the vicinity of Olsztyn, Poland. The herbicides trifluralin (Triflurotox 250 EC), alachlor + trifluralin (Alatrif 380 EC), metazachlor (Butisan 400 SC) andclopyralid(Lontrel 300) were appliedin spring rape according to recommendations (Zalecenia 1993). The aim of this study was to estimate the effect of the herbicides on glucosinolates content in spring rape seeds. The obtainedresults revealedsignificant effect of meteorological conditions on glucosinolates content. The Star cv. was characterizedby higher level of these compounds in comparison with Lisonne cv. The adequate values were 15.96 μmol g^-1 of d.m. and 12.32 μmol g^-1 of d.m., respectively. It is evident on the base of the statistical analyses of the obtained results that herbicides modified glucosinolates content in seeds of both cultivars. The level of these compounds was increased as the effect of Triflurotox 250 EC use (data obtainedfrom three years investigations) and Alatrif 380 EC (four years) while Butisan 400 SC activity was unfavourable (four years).

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of carfentrazone-ethyl (CE) doses of 0.265, 5.280, 10.560, 21.180, 42.240 μg kg-1 soil DM on fungi, Acnomycetes, organotrophic bacteria, total oligotrophic bacteria and spore-forming oligotrophic bacteria, and on the activity of dehydrogenases, catalase, urease, alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase, arylsulfatase and β-glucosidase. Carfentrazone-ethyl had a stimulating effect on total oligotrophic bacteria and organotrophic bacteria, but it inhibited the growth of Azotobacter, fungi, spore-forming oligotrophic bacteria and Actinomycetes. The analyzed substance modified the structure of soil microbial communities, and it induced the most profound changes in fungi. The highest values of the colony development (CD) index and the eco-physiological (EP) index were observed in organotrophic bacteria. The optimal dose of carfentrazone-ethyl stimulated the activity of dehydrogenases, catalase, urease, alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase and β-glucosidase, but it had no effect on arylsulfatase. The highest doses of the analyzed substance inhibited the activity of dehydrogenases (reduction from 11.835 to 11.381 μmol TPF), urease (reduction from 0.545 to 0.500 mmol N-NH4) and arylosulfatase (reduction from 0.210 to 0.168 mmol PNP). Dehydrogenases were most resistant to CE, whereas acid phosphatase and arylsulfatase were least resistant to the analyzed compound

Two field experimental trials were carried out in central Italy, in 2005 and 2006, on biomass sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] in order to assess weed control efficacy and selectivity to the crop of some pre- and post-emergence herbicides applied at different doses and in different mixtures. All herbicides showed good selectivity to the crop, although postemergence treatments showed higher transitory phytotoxicity effects than pre-emergence treatments, especially when high temperatures occurred after treatments, decreasing the selectivity of leaf herbicides (i.e. MCPA, 2,4-D, bromoxynil and dicamba). Considering pre-emergence applications, terbuthylazine alone against broadleaves or in mixtures at low doses with s-metolachlor against mixed infestations (grasses + broadleaves), seemed to be the best options to obtain a good selectivity to the sorghum and a high weed control level. Aclonifen showed some limits in terms of weed spectrum and could be recommended only against simplified broadleaf weed infestations without the presence of less susceptible weeds, like Amaranthus retroflexus, Portulaca oleracea and Solanum nigrum. Propachlor seemed not to be advisable due to the low efficacy against all the major broadleaf warmseason weed species in the Mediterranean areas. Considering post-emergence applications, all treatments gave quite similar results in terms of weed control, although, the mixture of terbuthylazine + bromoxynil seemed to be the best option due to bromoxinil’s higher efficacy than other foliar herbicides, such as MCPA, 2,4-D and dicamba, which can increase the efficacy of terbuthylazine alone especially under dry weather conditions. There were no significant differences in sorghum biomass between herbicide treatments, although, the more selective pre-emergence treatments showed, on average, a higher biomass yield value than the less selective post-emergence treatments. For these reasons, biomass values seemed to be more related to herbicide selectivity than to herbicide efficacy, especially in cases of scarce competitiveness of weed flora.

Analyses of the ground waters in respect of presence of residues of plant protection products, i.e. active substances as well as environmental metabolites thereof are performed in the Institute of Plant Protection since the end of 80ties of the past Century. Based on the results obtained in 1993–1994 for 40 wells located in administrative territories of former Poznań, Toruń and Bydgoszcz voivodeships, in the vicinity of intensive agricultural production areas (orchards, farms), wells where significant amounts of residues of triazines group and dealkylated metabolites thereof had been found previously were qualified to further studies. There were 6 wells in which triazine residues were determined most often. Additionally, based on hydrogeological maps, directions of underflows in the areas of well’s locations were determined as well. The aim of the above was to find the additional places for sampling waters distant from pollution sources and estimation of the level of residues of target compounds depending on distance from the basic wells. Seven triazine compounds including basic active substances (atrazine, simazine) and their metabolites [desethyl atrazine, desisopropyl atrazine, desethyldesisopropyl atrazine, hydroxyatrazine and hydroxysimazine] were selected for the presented studies. Residues were analyzed using methodologies designed in the Institute, i.e. solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by determination by chromatographic techniques HPLC-PDA, GC-NPD and GC-MS. Generally, during 11 years of investigations (1993–2003) samplings were performed 52 times and 323 samples of groundwater including that from additional wells were analyzed. Most often residues of atrazine and deethylatrazine in wells located in environs of Poznań were detected.

Weeds are one of the most important limiting factors in the production of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) in Iran, especially in autumn sown chickpea. Weed density and biomass in autumn chickpea are seven and two and a half times higher than the spring chickpea, respectively. The weed damage to chickpea in Tabriz, Kermanshah and West Azerbaijan was estimated at 48.3, 57 and 36%, respectively. Sixty-four weed species were identified in chickpea fields. Convolvulus arvensis L. and Galium tricornutum Dandy have the highest presence in chickpea fields. Pyridate and linuron are the only herbicides registered for use in chickpea fields in Iran. However, research results show that fomesafen and isoxaflutole are the most appropriate herbicides for chickpea fields. Oxyfluorfen, imazethapyr, metribuzin, trifluralin, simazine, terbutryn and pendimethalin are the major herbicides studied in weed control research. The combination of herbicides and mechanical control is one of the effective methods to reduce weeds. Hand weeding and cultivation between rows are the most effective mechanical methods of weed control. High nitrogen enhances weed dry weight. Safflower and barley residues reduce weed populations and biomass. Barley-chickpea and wheat-chickpea intercropping systems increase chickpea yield together with proper weed control. In future research, more attention should be paid to surfactants to reduce the use of herbicides, rotation crops and integrated weed management in chickpea.

There are few reports in literature about the selectivity of postemergence application of herbicides for the control of eudicotyledon weeds (broadleaf) in chickpea. For this reason, the aim of this study was to investigate the selectivity of diphenyl-ether herbicides in chickpea influenced by the herbicides and application rates. A field experiment was conducted from February to June 2017 in Urutaí, state of Goiás, Brazil. Cultivar BRS Aleppo was used in the experiment. The experiment was set up in a randomized block design with 2 × 3 + 1 factorial arrangement and three replications. The first factor was herbicides (fomesafen and lactofen) with the second factor being herbicide rate (50, 75, and 100% of referenced rate) plus an untreated check as a comparison. The applied rates of herbicides were 250 and 180 g ⋅ ha–1 of fomesafen and lactofen, respectively. The selectivity of herbicides was evaluated according to agronomic characteristics (plant population, height, dry matter, number of pods per plant and 100-grain weight) and yields. Both herbicides, regardless of dosage, were selective in chickpea cultivation, even exhibiting leaf necrosis symptoms with visible injuries below 20% with no effect on yield.

This weed management investigation was carried out at the Zonal Agricultural Research Station (ZARS), Bangalore, during the summers of 2017 and 2018 to standardize agrotechniques for weed management of rice grown under aerobic conditions. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with eleven treatments replicated thrice. It consisted of two pre-emergence herbicides and one early post-emergence herbicide, the stale seedbed technique, mulching, hand weeding and intercultivation which was compared to the weedy check. The results showed that pyrazosulfuron ethyl 10% wettable powder (WP) at 35 active ingredient (a.i.) g ⋅ ha–1 as PE fb bispyribac sodium 10% SC at 30 ml ⋅ ha–1 a.i. as an early post-emergence herbicide performed better in terms of rice grain and straw yield (5,800 and 9,786 kg ⋅ ha–1, respectively), plant height (58.42 cm), rice total dry matter production (149.84 g ⋅ plant–1), productive tillers ⋅ hill–1 (40.32), panicle length (24.53 cm), 1000 grain weight (25.35 g), net returns (Rs. 62424), higher B : C ratio (2.59) and lower total weed density, weed dry weight at different stages of rice and weed index (3.80%) as well as higher weed control efficiency (90.52%). This practice could be recommended to farmers growing aerobic rice under these climatic conditions.

Two field experiments were established at the Agricultural Experimental Station of the National Research Centre at Nubaria, Beheira Governorate, Egypt to study the herbicidal potential of the leaf extract of Eucalyptus citriodora at 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25% compared to two hand hoeing, unweeded treatments and the chemical herbicides Bentazon + Clethodium, Bentazon + Fluazifop-P-butyl and Butralin on pea plants and associated weeds. The results indicated that two hand hoeing achieved the maximum weed depression as expressed by the dry matter of total weeds. The dry matter of total weeds decreased by 95.08 to 94.77% as compared with unweeded treatment 50 and 70 days after sowing (DAS) followed by Butraline (93.93–94.65%), Bentazon + Clethodium (93.26–94.07%), Bentazon + Fluazifop--P-butyl (91.82–92.77%) and leaf extract of Eucalyptus at 25% (91.61–91.95%). Furthermore, the reduction in weed development was accompanied by enhanced pea growth and yield. The results revealed that two hand hoeing was the best treatment to increase plant height, shoot dry weight and SPAD value at 50 and 70 DAS. Also, two hand hoeing produced the maximum values of pod length and number of seeds/pod. The results also indicated that Bentazon + Clethodium treatment gave observable values [recorded 72.96% in pod yield (ton ⋅ fed.–1) over that of unweeded control] of number of pod/plant, weight of pod/plant, seed yield/fed and protein percentage. Also, the results revealed great increases in the growth of pea as well as yield due to treatment with E. citriodora dry leaf extract at 25%. [recorded 64.8% in in pod yield (ton ⋅ fed.–1) over that of unweeded control]. So, the results indicated using Bentazon + Clethodium as well as E. citriodora dry leaf extract at 25% to control weeds associated with pea plants. The authors suggested application of E. citriodora dry leaf extract at 25% in controlling weeds associated with pea plants as a safe method that avoids environmental contamination.

Redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L). is a broadleaf weed in autumn crop fields in Russia. Four field experiments were performed in Stalskiy region, southern Russia in two growing seasons, 2016 and 2017, to investigate the effects of postemergence applications of applied alone or in tank mixtures in winter wheat cultivars Tanya and Bagrat. Redroot pigweed control was greatest with tribenuron and all herbicide treatments containing tribenuron. The lowest redroot pigweed control was with aminopyralid/florasulam (study 1) and triasulfuron (study 2), respectively, whereas redroot pigweed had intermediate responses to the other examined herbicides. Tribenuron plus fluroxypyr sprayed on wheat cultivar ‘Tanya’, and tribenuron plus triasulfuron on wheat cultivar ‘Bagrat’ resulted in increased wheat grain yields. Overall, tribenuron and herbicides containing tribenuron provided the most efficient redroot pigweed control compared with the other herbicides and consistently maintained optimal winter wheat yields. Tribenuron could ameliorate redroot resistance to herbicides in wheat fields in southern Russia.

Clethodim herbicide (Cle) and three Trichoderma strains (Tri) were applied either alone or in combination (Cle + Tri) for controlling weeds, root knot nematodes (Meloidogyne arenaria) and Rhizoctonia root rot disease (Rhizoctonia solani) as well as for evaluating their effects on total microbial count in the rhizosphere and the number of Rhizobium nodules on roots in two faba bean cultivars cultivated in naturally heavily infested fields. The evaluated characters were very similar for the two tested cultivars (Nubariya 1 and Sakha 3). Treatment with Cle alone highly reduced the fresh and dry matter of tested weeds (Amaranthus viridis, Cynodon dactylon and Cenchrus ciliaris), followed by Cle + Tri and Tri alone. Cle + Tri highly reduced nematode parameters viz. numbers of J2 in soil or roots, females, eggs, galls and egg-masses when compared with each treatment alone. Tri alone caused a great decrease in Rhizoctonia root rot infection, followed by Cle + Tri and Cle alone. Total microbial count and Rhizobium nodules were affected only with Cle treatment. Plant growth parameters (shoot length, shoot fresh and dry weight and numbers of branches and leaves) and yield parameters (fresh pod and dry weight, seed number per pod, seed weight and ash pod weight of plant) were greatly improved for Cle + Tri treatments when compared with either Tri or Cle alone.