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Early Season Soil Solarization and Occultation Impacts on Weed Pressure and Onion Yield in Eastern South Dakota: Year 2 (2024) Results

Updated April 14, 2025
Professional headshot of Kristine Lang

Kristine Lang

Assistant Professor & SDSU Extension Consumer Horticulture Specialist

Written by Hannah Voye, SDSU Department of Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science Graduate Research Assistant, under the direction and review of Kristine Lang; and Rhoda Burrows, former Professor & SDSU Extension Horticulture Specialist.

Introduction

Tarping is a weed management practice used by farmers across the United States and around the world. When tarps are applied in early spring and removed before planting, they can reduce weed pressure for early season crops like onions. Since onions have minimal canopy and therefore do not provide much soil coverage, they have high susceptibility to weed pressure.

Funding and Acknowledgements

This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under agreement number 2022-38640-37486 through the North Central Region SARE program under project number LNC22-460. USDA is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Special thank you to the Lang Lab Graduate and Undergraduate Research Assistants at South Dakota State University: MacKenzie Christopher, Kenadie Fick, Ellen Fitzpatrick, Emily Guggisberg, Tayah McGregor, Kristina Harms, Gabrielle Thooft, Abdulrahman Hassanien, Connor Ruen, and Trevor Ruen.