Weed Management

The 2021 planting season ran long again this year, starting in late March and continuing into early June. Most growers may schedule their summer or task out by calendar; however, a weed seed plans its unwanted arrival based off growing degree unit, or GDU (heat), and how soon the pre-emerge soybean residual gives up. This means that very soon, it’s going to become difficult to complete post-emergence in crop herbicide application, especially with products that have a stop use date associated with them. Here are some tips to help make post soybean herbicide application a little smoother. 1. Don't [...]

Putting pen to paper. It’s the first step an applicator takes when spraying their fields each season. The process involves printing paper maps of the fields, calling all of the neighboring field operators to ask what they’ve planted, and refreshing weather apps to track wind speed and direction on the day of application. The stakes are high. While it’s meticulous work, it’s not foolproof and the consequences of off-target drift can be severe. So severe, in fact, that no one wants the liability, and the problem has the unsurprising attention of the EPA, as we all learned on June [...]

*DISCLAIMER: The Illinois Soybean Association does not make product recommendations and is supportive of the safe use of approved technologies available to farmers.* Dicamba tolerant (Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® and XtendFlex®) soybeans are not new, but the labels for approved dicamba formulations continue to evolve. As in-crop applications of herbicide products like XtendiMax®, Engenia®, and Tavium® begin for the 2021 season, let’s review a few of the key label requirements and application best practices. First introduced in 2016, Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® soybeans (tolerance to glyphosate and dicamba) and the more recent XtendFlex® trait platform (tolerance to glyphosate, dicamba, [...]

*DISCLAIMER: The Illinois Soybean Association does not make product recommendations and is supportive of the safe use of approved technologies available to farmers.* It has been said that “weeds and cockroaches are the only things that could survive a nuclear war.” When it comes to weeds, there is no doubt they have become increasingly challenging to control and they continue to adapt to the cultural and chemical practices that farmers use. Over the years, weeds have developed resistance or at least tolerance to many of the classes of chemistry; new and old. For that reason, Ag research companies have [...]

This article was originally published on DTN/Progressive Farmer. ROCKVILLE, Md. (DTN) -- Glufosinate herbicides, often sold under the Liberty brand, are in higher demand than ever before. Spraying Liberty for the first time this year? Aim for plenty of sun, high humidity, higher temperatures and prioritize spray coverage. (DTN File Photo by Tom Dodge) This year, nearly every herbicide-tolerant soybean trait on the market -- XtendFlex, Enlist E3, Liberty Link and LL GT27 -- contains tolerance to glufosinate. As a result, the number of growers spraying the herbicide for the first time each year is also on the rise. [...]

Since the beginning of agriculture, the battle between weeds and farmers has been constant as weeds continue to adapt to management practices in order to survive. The struggle continues today with waterhemp and Palmer amaranth, two pigweed species that have become especially problematic for Illinois soybean farmers due to their inherently competitive characteristics and evolved resistance to several classes of herbicides. To curb this threat, farmers need to adopt an integrated, zero-tolerance approach to pigweed management, which is the goal of BASF’s Operation Weed Eradication. Before developing a plan for controlling waterhemp and Palmer amaranth, it’s important to understand [...]

The 2021 planting season has begun in many counties across Illinois which means a new year is beginning for fresh thoughts and ideas. The first two weeks of April provided dry soils for planting, tillage, NH3 application and spring herbicide burndowns. However, recent rains have brought field activity to a strong stop. Now is a great time to reevaluate your herbicide program for the coming spring. Over the past five years, I have started taking a larger role in herbicide programs. I did this because there was an increasing number of producers asking if we had been successful on [...]

Weed management is more than just selecting a post applied herbicide trait in your soybeans and waiting to spray when weeds emerge. Over the last 10 to 15 years, it seems like many producers aren’t sure if they will have a weed pressure problem and so are reluctant to get aggressive with a foundation effective herbicide. Instead, it’s become more of wait and see, then react with post herbicide. We apply nitrogen every year ahead of corn because we know a corn crop will need nitrogen. In fact, many producers have implemented strategies to maximize season-long supply by splitting [...]