Field experiments were conducted in 1997 and 1998 near Columbia and Novelty, MO, and Urbana, IL, to evaluate crop injury, weed control, corn yield, and net economic returns provided by weed control programs in glyphosate-resistant corn. The herbicide programs evaluated included acetochlor preemergence (PRE) followed by (fb) glyphosate with or without atrazine postemergence (POST) and total POST programs consisting of single and sequential applications of glyphosate alone and tank-mixed with actochlor, atrazine, or both. Metolachlor PRE fb dicamba plus atrazine POST and metolachlor plus atrazine PRE were included for comparison. In the total POST treatments, mid-post (MPOST) applications provided better control than early-post (EPOST) applications on weeds that germinated throughout the growing season such as shattercane and common cocklebur, but also resulted in yield reductions of up to 23% caused by early-season weed competition. The addition of atrazine to glyphosate POST generally increased control of common cocklebur, morningglory species, and common waterhemp. EPOST or PRE fb EPOST applications generally provided higher yields than MPOST treatments, although MPOST treatments often provided equal or greater weed control at midseason. Treatments including two herbicide applications tended to provide greater weed control, yield, and profit than those with a single application. Input costs for glyphosate-resistant corn are slightly higher than nontransgenic hybrids. However, net economic returns are similar and the use of glyphosate POST allows greater flexibility in POST weed management decisions.

Field experiments were conducted in 1997 and 1998 near Columbia and Novelty, MO, and at Urbana, IL, to evaluate corn injury, weed control, corn yield, and estimated economic returns with weed management programs in glufosinate-resistant corn. Herbicide programs included acetochlor preemergence (PRE) followed by glufosinate alone or with atrazine postemergence (POST) and total POST programs consisting of single and sequential applications of glufosinate alone or tank mixed with acetochlor, atrazine, or acetochlor plus atrazine. Metolachlor PRE followed by dicamba plus atrazine early POST (EPOST) and metolachlor plus atrazine PRE were included for comparison. In the total POST treatments, mid-POST applications controlled shattercane and common cocklebur better than EPOST applications. However, yield reductions as high as 23% occurred because of early-season weed interference, although weeds were controlled later in the season. Applying atrazine with glufosinate generally increased control of giant foxtail, common cocklebur, morningglory species, and common waterhemp compared to glufosinate alone, but did not increase control of common lambsquarters, velvetleaf, or Pennsylvania smartweed. Corn yield was positively correlated with weed control (r = 0.88) and more strongly dependent on grass (r = 0.82) than broadleaf (r = 0.70) weed control. Net incomes were positively correlated to corn yield (r = 0.73). Four of the top six net income-producing treatments included two herbicide applications. Three of the treatments were PRE followed by POST programs, and the fourth was a sequential POST treatment of glufosinate.

Field experiments were conducted in Platte County, Missouri, during 2006 and 2007 to evaluate PRE, POST, and PRE followed by (fb) POST herbicide programs for the control of glyphosate-resistant waterhemp in soybean. All PRE fb POST treatments resulted in at least 66 and 70% control of glyphosate-resistant waterhemp in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Control of glyphosate-resistant waterhemp was less than 23% with lactofen and acifluorfen in 2006, but at least 64% in 2007. Variability in control likely resulted from differences in trial locations and a population of protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO)–resistant waterhemp at the Platte County site in 2006 compared with 2007. In both years, glyphosate resulted in less than 23% control of glyphosate-resistant waterhemp and provided the least control of all herbicide programs. Programs containing PRE herbicides resulted in waterhemp densities of less than 5 plants/m2, whereas the POST glyphosate treatment resulted in 38 to 70 plants/m2. Waterhemp seed production was reduced at least 78% in all PRE fb POST programs, from 55 to 71% in POST programs containing lactofen and acifluorfen and by only 21% in the POST glyphosate treatment. Soybean yields corresponded to the level of waterhemp control achieved in both years, with the lowest yields resulting from programs that provided poorest waterhemp control. PRE applications ofS-metolachlor plus metribuzin provided one of the highest net incomes in both years and resulted in $271 to $340/ha greater net income than the glyphosate-only treatment. Collectively, the results from these experiments illustrate the effectiveness of PRE herbicides for the control of glyphosate-resistant waterhemp in glyphosate-resistant soybean and the inconsistency of PPO-inhibiting herbicides or PPO-inhibiting herbicide combinations for the control of waterhemp populations with multiple resistance to glyphosate and PPO-inhibiting herbicides.

Field studies were conducted at two locations in 1997 and 1998 to evaluate crop injury, weed control, yield, and net economic returns of single and sequential postemergence applications of labeled and reduced rates of glyphosate to no-till, glyphosate-resistant soybean planted in narrow rows. Sequential applications provided at least 91% control of giant foxtail, while single applications provided at least 86% control with labeled rates and 68–93% control with reduced rates. Common waterhemp control was slightly higher with sequential vs. single treatments and with labeled rates vs. reduced rates. Velvetleaf control was greater than 96% with all treatments. Common cocklebur control was 90% or higher with all treatments except a single application of glyphosate at 210 g/ha. Lower control of giant foxtail and common waterhemp with single-application, reduced-rate treatments in two of the four trials resulted in lower yields. Overall, sequential applications, regardless of rate, provided greater weed control, yield, and net income and lower coefficients of variation (C.V.s) of net income than reduced-rate single applications. Single-application treatments showed a trend of decreased weed control, yield, and net income and higher C.V.s of net income with reduced rates of glyphosate.

Crop simulation models are used at the field scale to estimate crop yield potential, optimize current management, and benchmark input-use efficiency. At issue is the ability of crop models to predict local and regional actual yield and total production without need of site-year specific calibration of internal parameters associated with fundamental physiological processes. In this study, a well-validated maize simulation model was used to estimate yield potential for 45 locations across the U.S. Corn Belt, including both irrigated and rainfed environments, during four years (2011-2014) that encompassed diverse weather conditions. Simulations were based on measured weather data, dominant soil properties, and key management practices at each location (including sowing date, hybrid maturity, and plant density). The same set of internal model parameters were used across all site-years. Simulated yields were upscaled from locations to larger spatial domains (county, agricultural district, state, and region), following a bottom-up approach based on a climate zone scheme and distribution of maize harvested area. Simulated yields were compared against actual yields reported at each spatial level, both in absolute terms as well as deviations from long-term averages. Similar comparisons were performed for total maize production, estimated as the product of simulated yields and official statistics on maize harvested area in each year. At county-level, the relationship between simulated and actual yield was better described by a curvilinear model, with decreasing agreement at higher yields (>12 Mg ha-1). Comparison of actual and simulated yield anomalies, as estimated from the yearly yield deviations from the long-term actual and simulated average yield, indicated a linear relationship at county-level. In both cases (absolute yields and yield anomalies comparisons), the agreement increased with increasing spatial aggregation (from county to region). An approach based on long-term actual and simulated yields and year-specific simulated yield allowed estimation of actual yield with a high degree of accuracy at county level (RMSE ≤ 18%), even in years with highly favorable weather or severe drought. Estimates of total production, which are of greatest interest to buyers and sellers in the market, were also in close agreement with actual production (RMSE ≤ 22%). The approach proposed here to estimate yield and production can complement other approaches that rely on surveys, field crop cuttings, and empirical statistical methods and serve as basis for in-season yield and production forecasts.