FAS Abstracts 2004 Meeting Page

Agricultural Sciences (AGR): AGR-16

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Interference of pure and mixed populations of the weeds Amaranthus dubius and Digitaria sanguinalis with Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum). J.P. MORALES-PAYAN and W.M. STALL. Horticultural Science Department, Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-0690. Weed management is an important component of sweet basil production. Mixed populations of Amaranthus dubius (AD) and Digitaria sanguinalis (DS) may emerge in basil soon after crop transplanting. The effect of AD and DS on basil yield is unknown, and information on said effect may be useful to device weed management strategies. Transplanted basil (6 plants.m^-2) was grown weed-free and competing with 4 weed plants.m-2 (AD:DS proportions of 0:4, 1:3, 2:2, 3:1, and 4:0) for six weeks. Basil yield loss was higher as the proportion of SD increased. Basil yield losses were 31 and 80% when competing with pure stands of AD and SD, respectively. When basil competed with the 3:1, 2:2, and 1:3 AD:SD mixed populations, yield losses were 50, 69, and 76%, respectively, as compared to weed-free basil. Thus, SD was more detrimental to basil yield than AD. Management strategies should aim at the suppression of both weeds, but when available means of weed suppression are expected to differentially affect AD and SD, growers may benefit more from SD suppression.