Comparison of Herbicides for Reducing Annual Grass Emergence in Two Great Basin Soils

Reducing seed germination and seedling emergence of downy brome (Bromus tectorum L.) improves the success of revegetating degraded shrubland ecosystems. While pre-emergence herbicides can potentially reduce these two processes, their impact on germination and emergence of downy brome and revegetation species in semiarid ecosystems is poorly understood and has not been comprehensively studied in soils with potentially contrasting herbicide bioavailability (i.e., residual plant activity). We designed a greenhouse experiment to evaluate the effects two pre-emergence acetolactate synthase–inhibiting herbicides (rimsulfuron and imazapic) on germination and emergence of downy brome and two revegetation grass species (crested wheatgrass [Agropyron cristatum {L.} Gaertn.] and bottlebrush squirreltail [Elymus elymoides {Raf.} Swezey]) that were grown in representative soils from salt desert and sagebrush shrublands. Pre-emergence herbicides significantly (P