The herbicidal potential of different pelargonic acid products and essential oils against several important weed species

Abstract

There is growing consideration among farmers and researchers regarding the development of natural herbicides providing sufficient levels of weed control. The aim of the present study was to compare the efficacy of four different pelargonic acid products, three essential oils and two natural products’ mixtures against L. rigidum Gaud., A. sterilis L. and G. aparine L. Regarding grass weeds, it was noticed at 7 days after treatment that PA3 treatment (pelargonic acid 3.102% w/v + maleic hydrazide 0.459% w/v) was the least efficient treatment against L. rigidum and A. sterilis. The mixture of lemongrass oil and pelargonic acid resulted in 77% lower dry weight for L. rigidum in comparison to the control. Biomass reduction reached the level of 90% as compared to the control in the case of manuka oil and the efficacy of manuka oil and pelargonic acid mixture was similar. For sterile oat, weed biomass was recorded between 31% and 33% of the control for lemongrass oil, pine oil, PA1 (pelargonic acid 18.67% + maleic hydrazide 3%) and PA4 (pelargonic acid 18.67%) treatments. In addition, the mixture of manuka oil and pelargonic acid reduced weed biomass by 96% as compared to the control. Regarding the broadleaf species G. aparine, PA4 and PA1 treatments provided a 96–97% dry weight reduction compared to the corresponding value recorded for the untreated plants. PA2 (pelargonic acid 50% w/v) treatment and the mixture of manuka oil and pelargonic acid completely eliminated cleaver plants. The observations made for weed dry weight on the species level were similar to those made regarding plant height values recorded for each species. Further research is needed to study more natural substances and optimize the use of natural herbicides as well as natural herbicides’ mixtures in weed management strategies under different soil and climatic conditions.