Abstract:
To control annual broadleaf weeds in sorghum fields, bromoxynil and fluroxypyr-meptyl were selected as test herbicides. A greenhouse pot assay was conducted to evaluate the control efficacy of the mixture of bromoxynil and fluroxypyr-meptyl against
Abutilon theophrasti and
Amaranthus retroflexus, as well as its effects on sorghum growth. The optimal mixing ratio of the two herbicides was determined, and its safety to sorghum was assessed. The results showed that the mixture exhibited synergistic effects as evaluated by the isobologram method. For controlling
A. theophrasti, the optimal synergistic effect was observed with a mixture of bromoxynil at 150-238.52 g a.i./hm
2 and fluroxypyr-meptyl at 150-188.39 g a.i./hm
2. For controlling
A. retroflexus, the most significant synergistic effect was found with a mixture of bromoxynil at 123.98-150 g a.i./hm
2 and fluroxypyr-meptyl at 69.77-150 g a.i./hm
2. The safety evaluation results indicated that the mixture of bromoxynil and fluroxypyr-meptyl at a mass ratio of 1:1 showed selectivity indices of 3.55 and 4.56 against
A. theophrasti and
A. retroflexus, respectively. Those values were much higher than those of bromoxynil (0.03 and 0.04) and fluroxypyr-meptyl (0.14 and 0.21) applied alone, demonstrating excellent safety to sorghum.