Impact of Weed Management on Peanut Yield and Weed Populations the Following Year

Abstract

Field studies were conducted in 2016 and 2017 at two locations in North Carolina to evaluate common ragweed (Ambrosia artemiisifolia L.) (Lewiston-Woodville) and Palmer amaranth (Amanthus palmeri S. Wats) control (Rocky Mount), peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) yield, and estimated economic return when herbicides were applied postemergence (POST) at 2 or 6 weeks after planting (WAP); 2 and 4 WAP; 4 and 6 WAP; and 2, 4, and 6 WAP. During the following growing season, cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) was planted directly into the same plots to determine the impact of weed management during the previous season on weed density. In absence of herbicides, peanut yield was 880 and 1110 kg/ha at Lewiston-Woodville and Rocky Mount, respectively. When weed control depended on a single herbicide application, yield ranged from 1760 to 2660 kg/ha at Lewiston-Woodville, and 2080 to 2480 kg/ha at Rocky Mount. When herbicides were applied twice, peanut yield ranged from 2690 to 3280 kg/ha at Lewiston-Woodville and 3420 to 3840 kg/ha at Rocky Mount. The greatest yields were recorded when herbicides were applied two or three times. Applying herbicides increased the estimated economic return of peanut compared to the non-treated control (NTC). In cotton the following year, common ragweed populations at Lewiston-Woodville were greater following the NTC or a single herbicide application 2 WAP compared to more intensive herbicide programs. Palmer amaranth density at Rocky Mount the following year in cotton was not affected by weed management the previous year in peanut. These results illustrate the relative importance of timing and duration of weed management for peanut and how they influence weed emergence in the following cotton rotational crop.