Faculty
Milton E. McGiffen, Jr.
CE Vegetable Crops Specialist and Plant Physiologist (Ph.D., 1991, University of Illinois)
Vice Chair for Extension: Department of Botany and Plant Sciences
Phone: (909) 560-0839
Fax: (951) 827-4437
Email: milt@ucr.edu
My research focuses on weed management and sustainable agriculture. Areas of interest include weed management, cover crops, and models of cropping systems and population dynamics.
Current Projects:
| Biology of the World's Worst Weed Yellow nutsedge was planted at three spacings. Two months later, 10-m, 10-cm, and 1-m spacings can be seen. Purple nutsedge is so aggressive that it completely covers a 10-m square area within two months. |
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| Purple nutsedge is so aggressive that it completely covers a 10-m square area within two months. |  |
| Crop Rotation as a Weed-Management Tool Sudangrass is a warm-season forage that quickly forms a dense canopy. A dense canopy can be a weed management tool. |
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| At the bottom of a sudangrass canopy are twisted, brown leaves of nutsedge plants that have been shaded out by sudangrass. |  |
| Weed-Resistant Crops Breeders have developed crop varieties that resist all pests except weeds. We have identified differences in tomato varieties that allow them to outcompete weeds. |
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Some Representative Publications:
Ngouajio, M. and M.E. McGiffen, Jr. 2004. Sustainable vegetable production: effects of cropping systems on weed and insect population dynamics. Acta Hort. 638:77-83
Ngouajio, M., M.E. McGiffen, Jr., and C.M. Hutchinson. 2003. Effect of cover crop and management system on weed populations in lettuce. Crop Protection 22(1):57-64
Hutchinson, C.M., M.E. McGiffen Jr., J.J. Sims, and J.O. Becker. 2003. Fumigant combinations for Cyperus esculentum L control. Pest Management Science 60:369-374.
McGiffen, M. E., Jr., F. Forcella, M. J. Lindstrom and D. C. Reicosky. 1997. Covariance of cropping systems and foxtail density as predictors of weed interference. Weed Sci. 45: 388-396.
McGiffen, M. E, .Jr., D. W. Cudney, E. J. Ogbuchiekwe, A. Baameur and R. L. Kallenbach. 1997. Alternatives for purple and yellow nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus L. and C. esculentum L.) management. WSSA Abstracts 37: 8.
McGiffen, M. E., Jr., D. J. Pantone and J. B. Masiunas. 1994. Path analysis of tomato yield, quality, and competition with black and eastern black nightshade (Solanum nigrum L. and S. ptycanthum Dun.). J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 119: 6-11.
McGiffen, M. E., Jr., J. B. Masiunas and J. D. Hesketh. 1992. Competition for light between tomatoes and nightshades (Solanum nigrum L. and S. pytcanthum). Weed Sci. 40: 220-226.
McGiffen, M. E., Jr., J. B. Masiunas and M. G. Huck. 1992. Tomato and nightshade (Solanum nigrum L. and S. pytcanthum Dun.) effects on soil water content. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 117: 730-735