WEED MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR CONSERVATION-TILLAGE SUNFLOWER (HELIANTHUS-ANNUUS)

We compared applications of trifluralin or ethalfluralin granules inco rporated with a sweep plow or pendimethalin (ec) applied without incor poration to incorporating trifluralin (ec) by tandem-disk harrowing fo r sunflower production, The study was established in winter wheat stub ble at three sites in the northern and central Great Plains. Crop resi dues on the soil surface following sunflower planting was greater than 30% (level required to protect soil from erosion) with all conservati on-titlage strategies, but not with disk incorporation. Weed control a nd sunflower seed yield with conservation-tillage strategies were simi lar to the disk incorporation practice, demonstrating that producers c an use these strategies for sunflower production and to protect soil f rom erosion.