Field experiments were conducted in Pendleton, SC, in 2004 and 2005, to determine the influence of tillage with or without soybean on common cocklebur emergence. Treatments included no-till/no soybean (NTNS), no-till plus soybean (NTS), tillage/no soybean (TNS), and tillage plus soybean (TS). Emergence was monitored from an artificial seed bank in 2004 and a natural seed bank in 2005. Overall, common cocklebur emerged from early May through late October and presented multiple emergence. In no-till plots with or without soybean, initial emergence was delayed 7 d in both years. In TNS plots, major emergence (daily emergence > mean emergence plus standard deviation) of common cocklebur occurred from early May to late July. In NTNS plots, major emergence occurred from late May through late August. No-till reduced total common cocklebur emergence by 59 to 69% compared with tillage. At the V5 to V6 soybean growth stage, the daily soil thermal fluctuation at 2.5 cm soil depth diminished from approximately 15 to 5 C and reduced common cocklebur emergence by 84 to 91% for the rest of the growing season. Common cocklebur emergence was higher when the mean soil temperature was > 15 C, and the daily thermal fluctuation was > 7.5 C. This study suggests that strategies that promote early crop canopy development and minimum tillage should reduce common cocklebur emergence.

Nomenclature: Common cocklebur; Xanthium strumarium L. XANST; soybean; Glycine max (L.) Merr