Vascular weeds are a major problem in nursery container production, leading to expensive hand weeding and the application of chemical herbicides for their removal. Weeds compete with the crop being produced for water, nutrients, and light, resulting in stunted crops, increased inputs for production and potential loss in profits. Six non-chemical top-dress treatments were tested for their suppressive and preventative qualities against four different weed species common to container nursery production.Twenty seeds each of Cardamine hirsuta, Epilo-bium ciliatum, Sagina procumbens, and Senecio vulgaris were sown in Classic 200-containers filled with a conventional potting mix, fertilized with a time-release fertilizer, and top-dress treatments were applied either before or after weed seeds were sown. These treatments consist of buckwheat hulls, cocoa shells, coir fiber discs, geotextile discs, pine bark mulch, rice hulls, or controls which lack any top-dress treatment. The experiment was conducted ina greenhouse where a diurnal temperature flux was utilized and supplemental HID lighting was used to promote a long-day environment. The objective of this study was to replicate common weed pressures typical in a production nursery and determine which top-dress treatments were most successful in preventing and/or suppressing the establishment of these weed seedlings. Effectiveness of treatments was assessed by determining the survival of weed seedlings at 30 days following sowing. Results indicate thatbuckwheat hulls and rice hulls have the greatest effect in controlling weed growth in containers for the weed species C. hirsuta, E. ciliatum, and S. procumbens.
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