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Mustard seed meal suppresses weeds in container-grown ornamentals
September 30, 2008MSM shows promise as herbacide for ornamentals
PROSSER, WA - Mustard is one of the most widely used condiments on the planet. Prized for its oils, mustard plants grow wild in North Africa, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean, and is grown commercially in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.
During processing, the useful oils are extracted from the mustard plant, leaving mustard seed meal, or MSM, as a byproduct. Scientists are searching for innovative uses for mustard seed meal, hoping to increase profitability for mustard producers. Several products derived from natural sources are currently used as pest control substances for greenhouse plants. MSM and other byproducts of the expanding biofuels industry are being studied as solutions for controlling pests while offering the potential to increase profitability of biofuel production.
The use of herbicides in container-grown ornamentals is often limited as a result of the lack of registered products for use in greenhouses and the difficulty in assuring crop safety on numerous species grown in ornamental nurseries. Can MSM offer a solution? Dr. Rick Boydston and colleagues at the USDA recently published a report of their study of MSM's usefulness as an herbicide for container-grown ornamental plants. In the study, seed meal of mustard was applied to soil surfaces to evaluate its effect on several common weeds in container-grown ornamentals.
MSM applied to the soil surface of containers at 113, 225, and 450 g·m-2 reduced the number of annual bluegrass seedlings by 60%, 86%, and 98%, respectively, and the number of common chickweed seedlings by 61%, 74%, and 73%, respectively, at eight weeks after treatment. "Surface-applied MSM may control weeds in container-grown ornamentals without injuring the crop", summarized Boydston. In addition, MSM provides about five percent nitrogen and contributes to the nutrient needs of the crop."
"MSM has the potential to be developed as a selective herbicide for annual weed control in ornamental containers and further research could identify additional tolerant and susceptible species of both weeds and ornamentals", Boydston noted. Cost may be a factor in the long-term use of MSM, he noted, adding, "Transportation of MSM from oil-crushing facilities to end users will be a major factor influencing the overall cost of MSM".
American Society for Horticultural Science
The use of herbicides in container-grown ornamentals is often limited as a result of the lack of registered products for use in greenhouses and the difficulty in assuring crop safety on numerous species grown in ornamental nurseries. Can MSM offer a solution? Dr. Rick Boydston and colleagues at the USDA recently published a report of their study of MSM's usefulness as an herbicide for container-grown ornamental plants. In the study, seed meal of mustard was applied to soil surfaces to evaluate its effect on several common weeds in container-grown ornamentals.
MSM applied to the soil surface of containers at 113, 225, and 450 g·m-2 reduced the number of annual bluegrass seedlings by 60%, 86%, and 98%, respectively, and the number of common chickweed seedlings by 61%, 74%, and 73%, respectively, at eight weeks after treatment. "Surface-applied MSM may control weeds in container-grown ornamentals without injuring the crop", summarized Boydston. In addition, MSM provides about five percent nitrogen and contributes to the nutrient needs of the crop."
"MSM has the potential to be developed as a selective herbicide for annual weed control in ornamental containers and further research could identify additional tolerant and susceptible species of both weeds and ornamentals", Boydston noted. Cost may be a factor in the long-term use of MSM, he noted, adding, "Transportation of MSM from oil-crushing facilities to end users will be a major factor influencing the overall cost of MSM".
American Society for Horticultural Science
Mustard Current Events and Mustard News RSSMSU scientists find new gene that helps plants beat the heat
Michigan State University plant scientists have discovered another piece of the genetic puzzle that controls how plants respond to high temperatures. That may allow plant breeders to create new varieties of crops that flourish in warmer, drier climates.
Researcher working on destruction of chemical weapons
America's war on terror includes fighting the dark side of deadly chemical agents, and Texas A&M University chemist Dr. Frank Raushel is helping with the fight by developing an enzyme that might neutralize one such chemical agent, the organophosphates.
Mustard - hot stuff for natural pest control
Researchers, growers and Industry specialists from 22 countries will share the latest research into the use of Brassica species, such as mustard, radish, or rapeseed, to manage soil-borne pests and weeds - a technique known as biofumigation.
Brown papers reveal widespread, hardworking water on ancient Mars
For decades, scientists have theorized - romanticized, even - that Mars has harbored water. The evidence has grown stronger as recent missions to the Red Planet have revealed in stunning detail Martian topography, mineralogy and clues to past climate. But how much water, where it was or is located and what it was doing have been hard to pin down.
New Findings Show Diverse, Wet Environments on Ancient Mars
Mars once hosted vast lakes, flowing rivers and a variety of other wet environments that had the potential to support life, according to two new studies based on data from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) and other instruments on board NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).
Too hot to handle! Scientists identify heat sensing regulator
Neuroscientists at Johns Hopkins are a step closer to understanding pain sensitivity - specifically why it's variable instead of constant - having identified a gene that regulates a heat-activated molecular sensor.
Newly defined signaling pathway could mean better biofuel sources
A newly defined biochemical pathway in plants may provide the scientific tools to design plants that will yield larger quantities of alternative transportation fuels than currently can be produced, according to Purdue University researchers.
Gene That Controls Ozone Resistance of Plants Could Lead to Drought-Resistant Crops
Biologists at the University of California, San Diego, working with collaborators at the University of Helsinki in Finland and two other European institutions, have elucidated the mechanism of a plant gene that controls the amount of atmospheric ozone entering a plant's leaves.
Predicting the perfect predator
Garlic mustard has become an invasive species in temperate forests across the United States, choking out native plants on forest floors and threatening ecosystem diversity.
New Keys to Keeping a Diverse Planet
Variation in plants and animals gives us a rich and robust assemblage of foods, medicines, industrial materials and recreation activities. But human activities are eliminating biological diversity at an unprecedented rate.
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