L. Heydel et al., Reducing atrazine leaching by integrating reduced herbicide use with mechanical weeding in corn (Zea mays), EUR J AGRON, 11(3-4), 1999, pp. 217-225
Concern about the effects of pesticides on the environment and the desire t
o reduce purchased inputs are stimuli to reduce herbicide use. Field resear
ch was conducted for three growing seasons to compare the chemical contamin
ation and effectiveness of three weed management practices. Weed control tr
eatments included application of a herbicide mixture of 1.5 kg ai ha(-1) of
atrazine plus 0.9 kg ai ha(-1) of pyridate, this mixture being broadcast a
lone or band-applied in combination with mechanical weeding, and mechanical
weeding alone. The results show that it is possible to decrease the amount
of atrazine residue in soil with the band-applied treatment. Such a method
is very attractive because crop yields were not decreased, at least in the
short run. However, we do not yet know the long-term efficiency of this me
thod regarding groundwater quality, weed population dynamic and crop yield.
Further work is therefore needed to assess the long-term impact of this we
eding method. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.