Rick Boydston, Weed Scientist
Treva Anderson
Dallas Spellman
Ray Baker

Weed management research conducted by the USDA-ARS group at Prosser is focused on reducing the impact of weeds in irrigated annual crops through various tactics including growing competitive crop cultivars, cultivation (tillage level), herbicides, and use of cover crops. Crops include potato, sweet corn, spearmint, peppermint, carrots, onions, snap beans, switchgrass, and wheat. Volunteer potato frequently is a serious weed problem in crops rotated to potato due to the mild winters in the region that fail to kill tubers left in the soil after potato harvest. Volunteer potato control is a focus of several ongoing studies in sweet corn and snap beans.

Besides reducing crop yield and quality, weeds are hosts of pathogens, nematodes, and insects that may attack crops. Weed hosts of tobacco rattle virus and stubby root nematode, the causal agent and vector of corky ringspot disease of potato have been identified. Weed and cover crop hosts of powdery scab of potato are currently being determined. The influence of weed presence on the durability of nematode resistance in potato lines is also being studied.

Sweet corn cultivars differ in canopy architecture and the ability to suppress weeds. The response of wild proso millet, a difficult to control grass weed, to three sweet corn cultivars is being evaluated in cooperative field studies at the Prosser ARS location and in Urbana, IL.

Research Summaries

Ornamental

Alfalfa Seed

Lima Bean

Vegetable

Mint