Summary A total of 74 independently run bioassays with soil incorporated metsulfuron‐methyl from 12 different laboratories was analysed by a logistic dose‐response curve to assess the precision of regression parameters and relate ED50 to soil properties. The potency in terms of ED50 of metsulfuron‐methyl in Brassica rapa L., which was used by all laboratories, varied between 0.05 and 3.9 g a.i. ha‐1. ED50 was negatively correlated with pH and positively correlated with organic matter. The majority of laboratories had ED50 within the interval 0.1‐1.0 g a.i. ha‐1. At one laboratory using three test species, the most sensitive species was Beta vulgaris L. followed by Brassica rapa L. and Lepidium sativum L. The coefficients of variation were smallest for the ED50 and ED90 response levels and largest for the ED10. The slope of the response curves had considerably lower coefficients of variation than the EDs. The results are discussed in relation to a previous collaborative bioassay study. Finally it is suggested that standardization of bioassays with herbicides could be achieved in the same way as standardization of chemical analyses.

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Little is known about the performance of South African cactus pear varieties in different agro-ecological regions. Effects of locality on internal quality parameters of available cactus pear varieties were examined. With only one exception, no significant differences among the mean replication values for the different parameters between the different locations were observed. The differences between mean values for most individual parameters at the three localities were highly significant. Highly significant differences between the mean values for the measured characteristics were observed, not only among the locations (except for the pulp glucose values), but also for the influences of genotype and interaction between locality and genotype. Significant variations existed between mean values of the different characteristics between localities. Genotype x environmental interactions were noted. It was concluded that Meyers is the most appropriate cultivar for economical purposes in South Africa.

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Two naturally-occurring polyacetylene derivatives are found in Tagetes minuta L. and Bidens bipinnata L. which, when released into the soil, may affect crop growth. They are alphaterthienyl in roots of T. minuta and phenylheptatriyne in leaves of B. bipinnata. Soil samples were collected from a lot where pure stands of the two weeds were found to be growing. Similar soil was also sampled for control purposes, where the two weeds did not occur. The effect of aqueous extracts, taken from the weed-infested soils, on seed germination of seven horticultural crop species was determined in the laboratory. Nine crop plant species were also grown in pots containing the sampled soil. The species were: carrot, cucumber, lettuce, maize, onion, radish, squash, sunflower and tomato. Seed germination was delayed by aqueous extracts from the weedinfested soils. Where soil was infested with Tagetes during the previous season, dry mass of top growth and plant height of all the test plants were greatly reduced. Soil from an earlier Tagetes infestation had less of an effect on growth, with carrot and maize growing normally and growth of cucumber stimulated. Soil from a Bidens infestation significantly affected the eight plant species tested, although not to such a marked degree as soil from a recent Tagetes infestation.