- Posted by: Gale Perez
![Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) logo](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/UCDWeedScience/blogfiles/106927small.png)
Sterile Pollen Technique Shows Promise for Palmer Amaranth Weed Control
Newly published research provides a novel and sustainable weed-management strategy
WESTMINSTER, Colorado – 22 May2024 – Recently published research in the journal Weed Science shows that a sterilization technique commonly used to control insect pests can be modified to control weeds that require pollination to reproduce. More specifically, the researchers determined that employing a sterile pollen technique (SPT) could effectively disrupt Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri S.) reproduction.
Palmer amaranth remains among the most detrimental weeds in North American agriculture,...
/h3>- Posted by: Gale Perez
![Interviews on electric weeding research](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/UCDWeedScience/blogfiles/106107small.jpg)
From the eOrganic and Performance and Economics of Electric Weed Control in Organic Perennial Crops Project:
Electric Weeding Research Updates
(Click HERE to see the presentations)
- Electric Weed Control in Orchards • Tong Zhen, Ph.D. student (Hanson Lab) at UC Davis
- Crop Safety and Weed Control in Organic Highbush Blueberries Using Electric Weeding • Luisa Baccin, Ph.D. student (Moretti Lab) at Oregon State University
- Posted by: Gale Perez
![Master's student Erika Escalona shows off her first-place poster presentation during the 2024 California Plant and Soil Conference, hosted by UC ANR in Fresno, Calif., recently.](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/UCDWeedScience/blogfiles/104996small.jpg)
Congratulations to UC Davis weed science graduate student Erika Escalona (Fennimore Lab) for winning 1st place in the student poster presentation category at the 2024 California Plant and Soil Conference on Feb. 6-7, 2024 in Fresno, CA.
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Evaluating Bacterial Diversity in Steam Fumigation Treatments in the Salinas Valley's Lettuce Fields
Erika Escalona, University of California, Davis; Steve Fennimore, UC Cooperative Extension, Weed Specialist, Salinas; Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis; J.S. Rachuy, Department of Plant Sciences, UC Davis; Cristina Lazcano, Department of Land, Air and...
- Author: Whitney B Brim-Deforest
- Author: Roberta Firoved
- Posted by: Gale Perez
![Rice (photo: Brad Hooker)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/UCDWeedScience/blogfiles/104644small.jpg)
California rice growers will have a new herbicide available this year: Cliffhanger™, manufactured by Gowan Company. The active ingredient is benzobicyclon, which is the same as one of the two active ingredients in the currently registered herbicide, Butte®. Cliffhanger™ is a soluble liquid formulation (SC) which can be applied by ground-rig or airplane, including as a direct-stream application into the water. In contrast, Butte® is a granular formulation, as a pre-formulated mixture of benzobicyclon and halosulfuron. To use either product, applicators must attend a training and be certified.
Dates for the training are posted on the California Rice Commission calendar
- Author: Aaron Becerra-Alvarez
- Author: Sarah Lorraine Marsh
- Author: Kassim Al-Khatib
- Posted by: Gale Perez
![Figure 2. Zembu treated rice plots in 2021. The distinct dark green rice leaves are observed in the Zembu treated plots. The plots with the lighter green are the nontreated and demonstrate the weed pressure in the field.](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/UCDWeedScience/blogfiles/104323small.jpg)
A new herbicide for early-season weed control in water-seeded rice will be available soon. The herbicide active ingredient (a.i.) is pyraclonil, which will be trademarked as Zembu™ (1.8% a.i.) by Nichino, America Inc. The mode of action is a protox porphyrinogen (PPO)-inhibitor or Group 14. This herbicide is formulated as a granule and will be used as a residual preemergence for application on the day of seeding onto flooded fields. The use rate is 14.9 lbs ac-1 applied by air. While this herbicide is not a new mode of action for water-seeded rice, it is a new mode of action for early-season residual weed control. Pyraclonil is widely used for weed control in paddy fields worldwide and is the most commonly utilized...