PAM is a highly effective, easy and inexpensive erosion control method used on over a million acres of furrow irrigated agriculture in the US. The practice is rapidly gaining greater acceptance. Our data show that PAM use reduces weed seed migration in runoff water. This suggests that, as PAM is used more extensively, there may be reductions in weed seed migration within fields and at a watershed scale in surface irrigation schemes that could ultimately reduce the spread of weeds. This could ultimately reduce the need for certain herbicide treatments. It is also apparent, however, that PAM's soil stabilization may improve the chances for weed germination within the irrigated furrow, even where preplant incorporated herbicides have been applied. This suggests that PAM use may require greater attentiveness to layby cultivation or over-the-top herbicide application for effective season-long weed control. The effect of weeds on yield in this silage corn crop were minimal. Ongoing new work with edible dry beans, however, suggests that the effects of the weed populations are dramatically more important in the presence of a less competitive crop canopy. The impact of PAM use on weed seed bank dynamics will need to be more closely investigated to fully understand and best exploit these effects for improved weed control and reduction of herbicide use.
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| [Title] [Abstract] [Approach] [Table 1] [Table 2] [Table 3] [Table 4] [Conclusions] | |
| [View the images at the bottom of the poster.] | |