EVALUATION OF HERBICIDES FOR MANAGEMENT OF WEEDS IN SWEET BASIL (OCIMUM BASILICUM) PRODUCTION

Proposed by: Dr.Dezhi David Sui

Presenter: Sui, D. D., Extension Agent II - Vegetable & Fruit, University of Florida, IFAS, Cooperative Extension - Palm Beach County, West Palm Beach, FL 33415

Dezhi D. Sui, Dennis C. Odero, Richard N. Raid, and William M. Stall

Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is one of the world’s most popular herbs, with estimated 3,000 acres of basil in the 13,573 acres of herbs produced annually for fresh market in the U.S. Pigweed, purslane, lambsquarters, and goosegrass cost $500 per acre in commercial basil production whereas there is no herbicide has been labeled for basil in Florida. A three-year (2008-10) herbicide trial was conducted to select potential candidates in IR-4 application for chemical weed con¬trol in basil. On sandy soils, pre-emergence application of linuron at 0.1 lb/acre and napropamide at 3.93 lb/acre resulted in the highest basil yield (8,302 lb/acre and 5,229 lb/acre, respectively) and satisfactory weed control (75.3% and 79.3%, respectively). In the combinations of pre-/post-emergence herbicide treatments, linuron at 0.15 lb per acre/linuron at 0.05 lb per acre scored the highest yield (13,280 lb/acre) and satisfactory weed control (73.5% and 96.8%, respectively). On muck soils, pre-emergence application of linuron at 0.125, 0.25, and 0.375 lb/acre resulted in significant weed control and acceptable crop vigor. Of the post-emergence treatments, only linuron at 0.1 lb/acre provided significant weed control with minimal reductions in crop vigor. Prometryn resulted in crop death and imazethapyr significantly reduced crop vigor at the rates tested. Of the combination of pre-/post-emergence herbicide treatment, only linuron at 0.125 lb per acre/linuron at 0.10 lb per acre resulted in reasonable crop vigor (63%) and good weed control (91%). When EPA approved, using these herbicides for weed management may result in $125 million of increased annual profit in basil production in Florida.

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