Effects of Timing and Frequency of Flame Cultivation for Dewberry Control

Abstract

Flame cultivation (FC) uses brief exposures of high temperature to control weeds. Three sites in southeastern Massachusetts with dewberry present were studied over a 2-yr period to determine if seasonal timing and frequency of exposure to FC would reduce dewberry stem length and biomass, both in the year of and the year following treatment, and also to evaluate whether FC treatments altered the ratio (sugar : starch) of nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC) in dewberry roots. Dewberry plants were treated with a 9-s exposure to an open-flame hand-held torch at seven different timing regimes (one application in June, July, or August or two applications in June/July, June/August, and July/August, or nontreated). After 1 yr, all treatments showed reduced aboveground dewberry biomass compared to nontreated plots. The timing and frequency of FC treatments were not significant when the weed was growing amongst cranberry vines, but were significant when weeds were treated in the absence of cranberry. Exposure to FC did not affect the ratio of NSC in roots in the year after treatment, indicating that the relative amounts allocated to each type of storage carbohydrate did not differ from nontreated plants, even though the overall amount allocated to root biomass was reduced.

Evaluation of Organic Spring Cover Crop Termination Practices to Enhance Rolling/Crimping

“…Box 577, West Highway 4, LaCrosse, KS, USA, 67548) at 1.2 km ha −1 and 345 kPa operating pressure utilizing 382 L/ha (192 kg ha −1 ) propane. The flame equipment utilized in this experiment used substantially more propane compared to others reported in the literature [31][32][33][34]. Since weather and solar radiation attributes affects cover crop biomass and solarization potential, average daily temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation are reported for each year in Figure 2.…”

“…However, these products following cover crop injury due to rolling/crimping may increase the cover crop termination rate, thus conserving soil moisture and facilitating earlier subsequent crop planting opportunities. Flame weeding has been evaluated for weed control before crop emergence or inter-row for onion, sweet corn, and cabbage (Brassica oleracea L.) [31][32][33][34].…”

Weed Management in Cranberries: A Historical Perspective and a Look to the Future

“…Many of the target weeds can be controlled with glyphosate, but FC can be less expensive and used in organic situations, and cranberry vines can recover from treatment with FC, whereas glyphosate treatments are often lethal [81]. Biomass collected in the year after treatment showed that two exposures of 9 s with an OF torch were more effective at reducing dewberry total, shoot, and root biomass than treatments that received a single exposure [82]. The efficacy of FC on dewberry control was impacted by both the timing and the frequency of treatments.…”