Efficacy of the Integrated Harrington Seed Destructor on Weeds of Soybean and Rice Production Systems in the Southern United States
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Crop Science Society of America. Herbicide-resistant weeds affect every major cropping system today. Worldwide, there are 47 and 51 confirmed cases of herbicide-resistant weed populations in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] and rice (Oryza sativa L.) production systems, respectively. Alternatives to herbicides are necessary to help combat herbicide-resistant weeds. The integrated Harrington Seed Destructor (iHSD) has been developed to destroy weed seeds during crop harvest but has yet to be tested on weeds in soybean or rice. Thus, the objective of this research was to determine the effectiveness of the iHSD in soybean and rice and to evaluate any limitations. Three experiments were conducted using a stationary iHSD mill. First, the efficacy of the iHSD was evaluated on weed seeds incorporated into soybean residue or rice chaff. Second, varying soybean chaff feeding rates were tested to determine the amount that could be processed without interfering with weed seed destruction. Third, varying soybean chaff moisture levels were tested to determine any limitations that high moisture content may have on the iHSD. The iHSD demonstrated high weed seed destruction efficacy (<1% survival) for 11 of the 12 weed species of soybean. Common cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium L.) seed had 3% survival. In rice, <1% survival was observed in all weed species. The soybean feeding rate and moisture experiments yielded <1% survival across all treatments. These results show that the use of the iHSD can be highly effective in soybean and rice production for reducing inputs to the soil seedbank. These studies highlight the promising seed destruction potential of the iHSD but also demonstrate opportunities for further research evaluating the iHSD as a combine-fitted system operating under commercial scale production fields.
