OXYFLUORFEN UNDER CLEAR POLYETHYLENE FILM CONTROLLED WEEDS IN TRANSPLANTED CUCURBITS

Oxyfluorfen (0.28, 0.42, 0.56, and 0.84 kg ai ha-1) under clear polyet hylene film was evaluated for weed control, crop injury, and effects o n yields in transplanted muskmelon, cucumber, and summer squash. Numer ous narrowleaf and broadleaf weeds were effectively suppressed by 0.42 ha-1 of oxyfluorfen. Crop injury, occuring soon after transplanting, was reported in New York and North Carolina. Injury was usually transi ent, and injured crops frequently grew more vigorously than those grow n on treated black polyethylene mulch. Muskmelons were consistently th e most tolerant of the three crops. At high rates, yields of squash an d cucumber in 1988 were reduced in New York and North Carolina, respec tively. In greenhouse studies, positioning the cotyledons under the po lythene film caused greater injury in all three crops than when cotyle dons remained above the plastic.