Tools for Improved Management of Buffelgrass in the Sonoran Desert Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation Authors Bean, Travis M. Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 23/09/2021 16:27:35 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/325503 TOOLS FOR IMPROVED MANAGEMENT OF BUFFELGRASS IN THE SONORAN DESERT by Travis Maclain Bean __________________________ A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the SCHOOL OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2014 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Dissertation Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Travis Bean, titled Tools for improved management of buffelgrass in the Sonoran Desert and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. _______________________________________________________________________ Date: 3 June 2014 Steven E. Smith _______________________________________________________________________ Date: 3 June 2014 Martin M. Karpiscak _______________________________________________________________________ Date: 3 June 2014 Shirley A. Papuga _______________________________________________________________________ Date: 3 June 2014 William B. McCloskey _______________________________________________________________________ Date: 3 June 2014 George B. Ruyle Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate’s submission of the final copies of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. ________________________________________________ Date: 3 June 2014 Dissertation Director: Steven E. Smith 2 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that an accurate acknowledgement of the source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his or her judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED: Travis M. Bean 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................ 7 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................... 12 Background ....................................................................................................................................... 12 Predicting greenness ..................................................................................................................... 13 Chemical control .............................................................................................................................. 14 Helicopter broadcast herbicide application .......................................................................... 17 Summary ............................................................................................................................................ 18 EXPLANATION OF THE DISSERTATION FORMAT ..................................................................... 21 PRESENT STUDY .................................................................................................................................. 22 Appendix A ........................................................................................................................................ 22 Appendix B ........................................................................................................................................ 23 Appendix C ......................................................................................................................................... 25 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................... 28 APPENDIX A: PREDICTING BUFFELGRASS GREENNESS WITH EMPIRICAL MODELS BASED ON DATA DERIVED FROM TIME-LAPSE DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY AND LONG- TERM WEATHER STATIONS ............................................................................................................ 40 Abstract .............................................................................................................................................. 40 Nomenclature ................................................................................................................................... 41 Key words .......................................................................................................................................... 41 Management Implications ........................................................................................................... 42 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 43 Materials and Methods .................................................................................................................. 45 Locations ............................................................................................................................................................... 45 Data collection and processing .................................................................................................................... 46 Model selection, training, and validation ................................................................................................ 49 Results and Discussion .................................................................................................................. 52 Approximation of visual greenness ............................................................................................................ 52 Model selection ................................................................................................................................................... 53 Model prediction ................................................................................................................................................ 54 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ 58 LITERATURE CITED ............................................................................................................................ 59 4 Tables .................................................................................................................................................. 65 Figures................................................................................................................................................. 77 APPENDIX B: IMPROVED CHEMICAL CONTROL OF BUFFELGRASS (CENCHRUS CILIARIS) IN THE SONORAN DESERT ............................................................................................ 91 Abstract .............................................................................................................................................. 91 Nomenclature ................................................................................................................................... 92 Key words .......................................................................................................................................... 92 Management Implications: .......................................................................................................... 93 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 95 Materials and Methods .................................................................................................................. 99 Study sites. ............................................................................................................................................................ 99 Experimental design ...................................................................................................................................... 100 Results and Discussion ............................................................................................................... 104 Imazapic and Glyphosate ............................................................................................................................ 104 Clethodim and glyphosate .......................................................................................................................... 106 Imazapyr