The Role of Rhizobia in Peanut Drought Resistance

Cover crops can provide many benefits to peanut and cotton rotation in terms of suppressing weeds, conserving soil moisture for planting_. increasing soil organic matter, and reducing soil erosion. There has been an increased use of residual herbicides to combat herbicide resistant ,veeds such as palmer amaranth. Soil composition, pH and microorganism populations all affect how fast a soil herbicide degrades. Previous field studies in com and soybean rotation have shown residual herbicides. used during the growing season. have been observed to negatively affect the establishment of cover crops. There has been little research done on the effects of residual herbicides used in peanut and cotton rotation and their effects on cover crops in the Southeast. The objective of this study was to investigate the responses of six cover crops (daikon radish, cereal rye, cocker oats, crimson clover, winter wheat, and common vetch) to twelve common soil herbicides used in peanut and cotton. Treatments included S-metolachlor, acetochlor, pyroxasulfone, diclosulam. imazapic. chlorimuron ethyl. bentazon plus acifluorfon, pyrithiobac sodiwn, trifloxysulfuron sodium, diuron, prometryn, flumioxazin, and a non-treated check (NTC). Herbicide treatments were applied at 10% of full-labelled rate at planting. This study was conducted at Wiregrass Research Extension Center in Henry County. AL and E.V. Smith Research and Extension Center in Macon County, AL in 2016-2017 and 2017-2018.