Establishment of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is challenging, and failure in establishment may expose growers to considerable economic risk. The objectives this research were (i) evaluate whether management practices are variety-specific for the (ii) assess effectiveness cover crops as preceding on ‘Shawnee’ establishment. Therefore, two studies conducted at University Massachusetts Agricu...

There is increasing interest among growers in novel establishment systems for cover crops that can rehabilitate and protect soil. Cropping intensification has led to yield declines, compacted and poor quality soil, and increased pest problems. Cover crops in the Brassica (mustard) family offer benefits in soil conservation, improvement in soil quality, reduction in nitrate leaching, and suppres...

The use of toxic protein bait sprays to suppress melon fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett) (Diptera: Tephritidae), populations typically involves application to vegetation bordering agricultural host areas where the adults seek shelter ("roost"). Although bait spray applications for suppression of oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), populations have traditionally been applied ...

Whilst it is agreed that climate change will impact on the long-term interactions between crops and weeds, the results of this impact are far from clear. We suggest that a thorough understanding of weed dominance and weed interactions, depending on crop and weed ecosystems and crop sequences in the ecosystem, will be the key determining factor for successful weed management. Indeed, we claim th...

Concerns about genetically modified (GM) crops include transgene flow to compatible wild species and unintended ecological consequences of potential transgene introgression. However, there has been little empirical documentation of establishment and distribution of transgenic plants in wild populations. We present herein the first evidence for escape of transgenes into wild plant populations wi...