More Than New Chemicals Needed to Manage Weed Resistance
Resistant weeds continue to spread across Indiana, and managing them is taking new technology and new, as well as some old techniques. Mixing modes of action on your crop protection products is one way to start dealing with resistant weeds. Walter Armstrong with the American Association of Certified Crop Advisors says mixing modes of action is just the beginning, “Not only do you have to mix modes of action, but you have to change how and when you apply. Many growers are moving to a two pass system, pre-plant and post-emerge.” He added that new chemicals alone will not help farmers deal with resistant weeds, “Farmers have to start with clean fields each spring. For no-tillers that means a burndown, and for those in a cultivation system it means tearing up those weeds and killing them before you plant.”
He urged growers to scout fields to catch weeds before they get too large, “We need to keep these weeds from going to seed and adding to the weed bank in that field.” These may seem like old fashioned ideas, but Armstrong predicts even older ideas may be needed in the future, “We may have to look at some kind of in crop cultivation.” He said this will be as easier process now that we have GPS technology.
With some weeds already resistant to some of the new products on the market, he said growers may need to quarantine certain fields, “This could mean a grower would have to clean off a piece of equipment before moving it from one field to another so that you did not spread those resistant weeds and make your situation even worse.” He also suggested growers take a long term approach to weed management by putting together a 3 to 5 year plan to manage the resistant weeds they have.