Field trials were conducted in 1999 and 2000 to determine the influence of weed size and the number of glyphosate or glufosinate applications on weed control and sugarbeet yield. Glyphosate at 840 g/ha or glufosinate at 390 g/ha was applied one, two, or three times, beginning when the average weed height was 3, 10, 15, or 25 cm. Two sequential applications of glyphosate applied to 10-cm weeds or three sequential applications of glufosinate applied to 3-cm weeds provided weed control comparable to three sequential applications of desmedipham plus phenmedipham plus triflusulfuron plus clopyralid. Weed control and sugarbeet root yield were optimal for two postemergence applications of glyphosate and for three applications of glufosinate. Glyphosate provided greater control of redroot pigweed and common lambsquarters than glufosinate. Sugarbeet sucrose yield with both glyphosate and glufosinate weed control programs was nearly 10,000 kg/ha. Compared with two sequential applications of glyphosate, sucrose yield of glyphosate-resistant sugarbeet was reduced 15% by three sequential applications of desmedipham plus phenmedipham plus triflusulfuron plus clopyralid. Sucrose yields were similar between three sequential applications of glufosinate and three applications of desmedipham plus phenmedipham plus triflusulfuron plus clopyralid.
Nomenclature: Clopyralid; desmedipham; glufosinate; glyphosate; phenmedipham; triflusulfuron; common lambsquarters, Chenopodium album L. #3 CHEAL; redroot pigweed, Amaranthus retroflexus L. # AMARE; sugarbeet, Beta vulgaris L. ‘HM 1605RR’, ‘HM 1640RR’, ‘Beta 1399LL’, ‘Beta 4546LL’.
Additional index words: Setaria viridis, SETVI, Solanum sarrachoides, SOLSA.
