A system approach for waterhemp ( Amaranthus tuberculatus ) management in soybean–sugar beet rotation

Abstract Effective waterhemp management in crop rotations that include sugar beet requires a proactive approach, starting with robust weed management in the preceding crop. Sugar beet is vulnerable to weeds due to its poor competitiveness during its early growth stages and a limited availability of effective herbicide options within this rotation. This research aimed to evaluate multi-tactic weed management strategies, including planting soybean in narrow rows with low- and high-input treatments, and a high-input treatment plus harvest-time weed seed control (HWSC) simulation, on waterhemp control and seed production in soybean, and their effects on waterhemp density in the following sugar beet crop. Field experiments were conducted from 2021 to 2023 in Franklin, Moorhead, and Rosemount, Minnesota. Soybean planted in narrow rows closed the canopy earlier at Franklin in 2021 and at Moorhead in 2022. Soybean row spacing did not affect waterhemp control, density, biomass, or seed production at any site-year. A high-input treatment consisting of flumioxazin applied preemergence followed by (fb) an early postemergence application of lactofen + acetochlor fb a late-postemergence application of 2,4-D + glyphosate provided ≥95% waterhemp control at harvest at all site-years and seed production was reduced to 0 seeds m −2 at Franklin and Rosemount. At those locations, waterhemp control at harvest was comparable among all high-input herbicide treatments. Soybean planted in narrow rows yielded 9.4% and 18.5% more than soybean planted in wide rows at Franklin and Rosemount, respectively, while no yield difference was observed at Moorhead. Waterhemp emergence in the subsequent season’s sugar beet crop fell by 72% to 92% at the Franklin site in 2022, Moorhead in 2023, and Rosemount in 2023 after high-input herbicide treatments. However, adding HWSC to a high-input treatment did not result in a further reduction of waterhemp density. In this research, 1 yr of effective waterhemp control with high-input herbicide treatments in soybean reduced waterhemp emergence in the following season’s sugar beet crop.