Response of Vegetable Seedling Emergence to Mustard (Sinapis alba 'IdaGold' and Brassica juncea 'Pacific Gold') Seed Meal
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abstract
Mustard Seed Meals (MSMs) are by-products of biodiesel and an alternative to conventional herbicides for organic farming. However, MSMs might also suppress the emergence of vegetable seedlings. The objective of this study was to determine the response of vegetable seedling emergence to different MSM types and rates applied as an alternative herbicide. Six types of vegetable seeds, onion (Allium cepa), two cultivars of lettuce (Lactuca sativa Black Seeded Simpson and Buttercrunch), mustard (Brassica juncea), kale (Brassica oleracea), and Mizuna (Brassica rapa var. japonica), were sowed in petri dishes containing germination mix. MSMs (Sinapis alba IdaGold and B. juncea Pacific Gold) were incorporated into the germination mix at 0, 88, 176, or 265 gm2. Petri dishes were sealed for 1, 3, 5, or 7 days after sowing. For onion, Pacific Gold had a greater suppressive effect on seedling emergence than IdaGold. For kale and mustard, IdaGold and Pacific Gold had similar suppressive effects on seedling emergence, but Pacific Gold delayed emergence of kale at 88 gm2 when sealed for 3, 5, and 7 days. For Mizuna, IdaGold had more suppressive effects than Pacific Gold on seedling emergence, while sealing delayed but did not decrease emergence percentage (EP) at the lower rate (88 gm2) compared with the control treatment. For Buttercrunch lettuce, there were no differences in the suppressive effects between the two MSMs. For Black Seeded Simpson lettuce, Pacific Gold had more suppressive effects on seedling emergence than IdaGold when sealed at the lower rate (88 gm2) for longer durations (7 days) or at higher rates (176 and 265 gm2) for shorter durations (1 and 3 days). These results suggest that MSMs might suppress vegetable seedling emergence when applied at high rates (176 and 265 gm2), and sealing for more than 7 days after sowing may strengthen the suppressive effect. Extending sealing duration at the medium rates could achieve similar weed control results to high rates without sealing.
