Don’t Cut Corners on Weeds this Year

Keep the weed control program

Dan ChildsFarmers are operating with pretty sharp pencils as spring planting approaches. Can they get by with cutting some costs on weed control? Weeds affect yield and this a year farmers will want all the yield they can get, so Dan Childs, a Monsanto weed specialist recommends avoiding the cost cutting within the weed program.

“When we do that we tend to start going down the path of selecting for weed resistance or other things like that, so we want to use the full labeled rates when we can, and right now we need to play it smart. We need to wait for the weeds to be active so we can get the full use of our herbicide.”

Playing it smart also means taking advantage of a residual herbicide program.

“Certainly residuals is the key for any soybean system, whether it’s conventional beans, Roundup Ready, Liberty or whatever. You need a sound residual program because there are so many weeds now that are resistant to one or more, or even sometimes 3 or 4 different modes of action. So we really need to utilize residuals at planting. We need to come back with a residual with our post application. We call it layering the residuals so that we can get full benefit of season long control.”

Childs told HAT residuals are important for controlling palmer amaranth which had an off year last year because of all of the rain:Dan Childs on palmer amaranth in 16

April is the month for making your voice heard on EPA’s proposed approval of dicamba for use on genetically engineered soybeans and cotton. The comment period ends April 30th for the additional tool to fight glyphosate resistant weeds. Childs says the approval is the next step for the Roundup Ready 2 Xtend™ soybean system, the first biotech-stacked soybean trait with both dicamba and glyphosate herbicide tolerance.

“Farmers can go onto the EPA website and show their support for this technology. So it’s just a draft label right now and once that goes through all the process it’s going to be a few months before we even see a commercial label for some of these products. It’s likely we’re not going to see any type of product this year, in 2016. It’s likely more a 2017 product.”

The soybeans have been approved for commercialization and will be planted this spring, but until there is EPA approval farmers cannot spray dicamba over the top or use as a burndown prior to planting.

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