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Title: IMPACT OF INTRA-SPECIES VARIABILITY ON COCKLEBUR WEEDINESS

Author
item WASSON, JAMES - UNIV OF ILLINOIS
item KNEPP, ANDREW - UNIV OF ILLINIS
item WAX, LOYD
item TRANEL, PATRICK - UNIV OF ILLINOIS

Submitted to: American Society of Plant Physiologists Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/15/2001
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Common cocklebur is a very successful weedy species that is found throughout the United States and in many countries around the world. It is an extremely competitive species and causes major problems in a number of cropping systems. Early studies indicated that cocklebur is a diverse species with many locally adapted ecotypes. We collected accessions from throughout the midwestern, southern and southeastern United States, and grew these in a common garden experiment in Illinois. In this experiment, the most noticeable variations among accessions was in height and time to flowering. In a separate experiment we found significant differences in timing of seedling emergence and in percent total emergence. Leaf area was correlated with dry weight and should be a good indicator of competitiveness. Variability in competitiveness with soybean is being determined in another field study. In addition to differing in morphology, common cocklebur accessions differ in physiological traits and growth characteristics. These differences should be considered when fine-tuning weed management strategies for this species. Furthermore, the results presented here may prepare the way for genetic analyses of variability with this economically important weed species.