Browsing by Author "Gous, S. F."
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- ItemChemical vegetation management in Pinus radiata plantations in South Africa(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 1995-12) Gous, S. F.; Theron, J. M.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of AgriSciences. Dept. of Forest & Wood Science.ENGLISH SUMMARY: Pinus radiata is the most important timber tree planted in the western, southern and eastern Cape of South Africa, covering approximately 60000 hectares. The natural vegetation in these areas is mainly macchia, but exotic invaders like the Acacia and Hakea spp. cause severe problems. Macchia vegetation cannot be controlled successfully by means of slashing, hoeing or burning, because it resprouts rapidly in response to these treatments. Weed control in P. radiata plantations is mainly performed manually. In this study the objective was to search for an alternative, more effective, cheaper, vegetation management option to manual weeding. Trials were conducted where a number of herbicides (acetochlor, glyphosate, hexazinone, imasapir, metsulfuronmethyl, tetrapion and thiazopyr) were tested under different vegetation management treatments. These included the effect of seasons on herbicide efficacy. Preemergent herbicides were added to knockdown herbicides to test if longer relief from weeds could be obtained. Different application methods were also tested. Intra-row weeding was compared to total chemical weeding. Glyphosate at 1500g active ingredient per hectare (a.i./ha) and hexazinone at 2000g a.i./ha produced the best results for total weed control. In the southern Cape, weed control in summer was significantly better than weed control in any other season. No significant difference existed between intra-row weeding and total weeding. Chemical vegetation management was less expensive and more efficient than manual weed control.