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Evaluation of Agricultural By-Products for the Control of Weeds in Turfgrass (2003)
Darrell K. Tompkins, Carol Bubar, James B. Ross, Mark A. Anderson, Prairie Turfgrass Research Centre, Olds, AB
Summary
Alternative weed control strategies are gaining interest across North America. Recently, there has been a lot of interest and discussion surrounding the use of corn gluten meal for weed suppression. Corn gluten meal is a by-product of the wet milling of corn kernels. It has been demonstrated to have pre-emergent herbicide properties and active compounds have been isolated from the material.
In this study, various rates of four agricultural by-products -corn gluten, soybean and mustard meal as well as sugar beet extract - were compared against controls. Weed counts (of dandelions) were used as measures of weed control success. Turfgrass colour and density were also noted at each site. It is the intent of this study to determine whether these by-products suppress weeds and to determine the most effective rate.
Results
- In Calgary, corn gluten applied in the spring and fall at a high rate (937 g/m2) controlled weeds (dandelions), however lower rates had variable to poor weed control success.
- Turfgrass colour and density also generally improved with corn gluten meal applications.
- Results from the other sites could not be concluded. Further data collection will continue.
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