Wheat producers know that early weed flushes are the most damaging to yield, but sometimes the timing of a herbicide application isn’t easy to figure out.
“If you go in too early and remove the weeds, then late emerging weeds will come in and compete,” explains Dr. Bruce Murray, weed specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives in Carman, Manitoba. “However, if you go in too late you may have delayed too long and lost some of the yield potential because of early competition.
“When you have a product that allows you to go in early and get two or three weeks of residual control after application, it makes it easier for growers. The key is to get in early and control the weeds that are up – and hopefully control anything coming up later through residual activity. At that point, the crop can be large enough to close up the canopy, and any weeds emerging after that are of little consequence.”
Early and extended weed control has a good fit for these situations, says Murray: “However, trying to pick the right time for application for a particular crop is challenging and depends on whether or not it is a competitive crop like wheat, crop density and environmental conditions.”
Research at North Dakota State University at Fargo and at other locations supports the importance of early and extended weed control.
“Getting the weeds out of the way early allows the crop canopy to grow more quickly and fill in the space, and any late emerging weeds die off,” says Dr. Kirk Howatt, associate professor at North Dakota State University. “However in very arid environments, the canopy doesn’t ever close over very well.”
Growers may want to wait until they know most weeds have emerged. Under drier conditions, growers may not get the significant late flush of weeds that other areas experience.
Early and extended weed control optimizes yield potential and maximizes net returns.
“Everest® offers extended control of green foxtail, pigweed and wild mustard, which are some of the most prevalent weeds in North Dakota,” explains Howatt. “The extended activity on these weeds really works to an advantage when wild oats emerge early. Targeting young wild oats is important for rapid wild oat death, and the extended activity of Everest on the foxtail and pigweed keeps down the slightly later flush.”
The early application removes the competition from wild oats, and the extended control will pick up later emerging grass and broadleaf weeds. “Early season competition with wild oats can be really severe, particularly if populations are higher, so waiting until the broadleaves have emerged can end up causing fairly substantial yield losses,” says Howatt. “For grassy weeds, we encourage growers to apply the product as early as is reasonable to preserve as much of the yield potential as possible.”
Growers who like to seed early into clean fields – and keep them that way – are taking advantage of Everest’s extended activity to control green foxtail, wild oats and key broadleaf weeds flush after flush. Extended control comes in handy, especially when the grower wants to keep broadleaf weeds like mustard and pigweed in check. “Pigweed, in particular, doesn’t typically emerge until later into the growing season,” says Howatt, “so if the product doesn’t provide extended activity, the pigweed can escape the herbicide treatment.”
Weeds like pigweed that emerge late and stay green under the canopy are a cause for concern because they can reduce yield. Pigweed control is important for another reason: it is a very succulent plant that is difficult to desiccate and dry off in the fall, which can make combining more difficult. The grower’s best bet is to know their crops, rotations and the weeds they are trying to control. Scouting and monitoring are very important to get the application timing right and to maximize control efforts.
It boils down to this: Growing competitive crops in rotation and using early and extended weed control strategies will help optimize crop production and net returns.
Back to Top Back to Table of ContentsWrite a comment
- Required fields are marked with *.
Wheat producers know that early weed flushes are the most damaging to yield, but sometimes the timing of a herbicide application isn’t easy to figure out.
“If you go in too early and remove the weeds, then late emerging weeds will come in and compete,” explains Dr. Bruce Murray, weed specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives in Carman, Manitoba. “However, if you go in too late you may have delayed too long and lost some of the yield potential because of early competition.
“When you have a product that allows you to go in early and get two or three weeks of residual control after application, it makes it easier for growers. The key is to get in early and control the weeds that are up – and hopefully control anything coming up later through residual activity. At that point, the crop can be large enough to close up the canopy, and any weeds emerging after that are of little consequence.”
Early and extended weed control has a good fit for these situations, says Murray: “However, trying to pick the right time for application for a particular crop is challenging and depends on whether or not it is a competitive crop like wheat, crop density and environmental conditions.”
Research at North Dakota State University at Fargo and at other locations supports the importance of early and extended weed control.
“Getting the weeds out of the way early allows the crop canopy to grow more quickly and fill in the space, and any late emerging weeds die off,” says Dr. Kirk Howatt, associate professor at North Dakota State University. “However in very arid environments, the canopy doesn’t ever close over very well.”
Growers may want to wait until they know most weeds have emerged. Under drier conditions, growers may not get the significant late flush of weeds that other areas experience.
Early and extended weed control optimizes yield potential and maximizes net returns.
“Everest® offers extended control of green foxtail, pigweed and wild mustard, which are some of the most prevalent weeds in North Dakota,” explains Howatt. “The extended activity on these weeds really works to an advantage when wild oats emerge early. Targeting young wild oats is important for rapid wild oat death, and the extended activity of Everest on the foxtail and pigweed keeps down the slightly later flush.”
The early application removes the competition from wild oats, and the extended control will pick up later emerging grass and broadleaf weeds. “Early season competition with wild oats can be really severe, particularly if populations are higher, so waiting until the broadleaves have emerged can end up causing fairly substantial yield losses,” says Howatt. “For grassy weeds, we encourage growers to apply the product as early as is reasonable to preserve as much of the yield potential as possible.”
Growers who like to seed early into clean fields – and keep them that way – are taking advantage of Everest’s extended activity to control green foxtail, wild oats and key broadleaf weeds flush after flush. Extended control comes in handy, especially when the grower wants to keep broadleaf weeds like mustard and pigweed in check. “Pigweed, in particular, doesn’t typically emerge until later into the growing season,” says Howatt, “so if the product doesn’t provide extended activity, the pigweed can escape the herbicide treatment.”
Weeds like pigweed that emerge late and stay green under the canopy are a cause for concern because they can reduce yield. Pigweed control is important for another reason: it is a very succulent plant that is difficult to desiccate and dry off in the fall, which can make combining more difficult. The grower’s best bet is to know their crops, rotations and the weeds they are trying to control. Scouting and monitoring are very important to get the application timing right and to maximize control efforts.
It boils down to this: Growing competitive crops in rotation and using early and extended weed control strategies will help optimize crop production and net returns.
Back to Top Back to Table of ContentsWrite a comment
- Required fields are marked with *.