Help Customers Strengthen Herbicide Plans This Year
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Three to six weeks after crop emergence. That’s the critical period for weed control to prevent yield loss, according to university Extension weed science research.
Countless variables may influence or alter that critical period, but the importance of weed control when crops like soybeans are progressing from emergence through their V2 and R3 stages cannot be overstated.
While herbicide plans vary across growing regions, creating a program approach is not only advisable but also more effective for season-long weed control. By using multiple modes of action, a program approach also can reduce the likelihood of developing weed resistance.
Why Use a Program Approach?
A weed control program approach that includes multiple modes of action and extended residual activity can help ensure maximum soybean yield potential while preventing herbicide resistance. Each step within a herbicide program approach should be considered equally important.
“I compare a herbicide program approach to a three-legged stool,” says Joe Bolte, market development specialist, Corteva Agriscience. “If you leave out or are unable to complete one or more aspects of the plan, the overall effectiveness of it may be put at risk, which usually means hoping the next herbicide application will be able to control heavier weed pressure than it otherwise would have to control.”
Something every farmer wants to prevent is playing catch-up in weed control. The easiest way to avoid being placed in that position is by providing a weed-free environment for soybeans to emerge. Planting into a clean seedbed and following with an effective preemergence herbicide can pay off if wet conditions keep sprayers idle after the crop emerges. The last thing young soybean plants need is having to battle aggressively growing weeds, like Palmer amaranth and waterhemp, for moisture, nutrients and sunlight.
“If it’s too wet for a sprayer to get into the field for that postemergence application, weeds have time to grow,” Bolte says. “In some parts of the country last year, starting out clean and applying a preemergence herbicide kept the weed competition down until fields dried. Starting clean helps optimize early season weed control until postemergence applications can be made and should be an important part of an overall program approach.”
Although some postemergence products have crop stage restrictions, there are product options available that can increase application flexibility, control glyphosate-resistant pigweed and fit well into a highly effective herbicide program.
For example, Enlist One® herbicide can be tank-mixed with glufosinate for two effective modes of action against glyphosate-resistant waterhemp and Palmer amaranth in Enlist E3® soybeans.
Reducing Pressure; Increasing Application and Harvest Efficiency
The value of a program approach can be seen in the reduction of weed pressure subsequent applications will have to control. Good burndown and preemergence applications will help set the stage for a more effective postemergence application, and a reliable in-season residual will help carry the crop into canopy closure.
If you are recommending the Enlist® weed control system and mixing Enlist One herbicide with glyphosate, then also recommend 15 gallons of water per acre. If glufosinate is tank-mixed, then recommend 20 gallons of water per acre to help ensure thorough coverage on every growing point of waterhemp and Palmer amaranth. Use approved nozzles and pressure ranges that produce very coarse droplets, versus ultra-coarse droplets, to maximize coverage. Reference the Qualified Nozzles for Enlist One sheet.
“In addition to season-long weed control, there are additional advantages of a program approach to any herbicide plan,” Bolte says. “Of course, protecting yield potential is the economic gain, but it also improves the overall efficiency of harvest.”
Think about how big Palmer amaranth and waterhemp stems can potentially grow. Your customers have probably seen them break sickles off the combine platform, and the extra biomass passing through the header, feeder house and other components of the machine reduces the combine’s harvesting efficiency.
“The benefits of a herbicide program approach are numerous, not to mention how it can help reduce the seedbank of small-seeded broadleaves like pigweeds and large-seeded broadleaves like cocklebur the next growing season,” Bolte concludes.
Building a soybean herbicide plan with a program approach begins here.
The transgenic soybean event in Enlist E3® soybeans is jointly developed and owned by Corteva Agriscience and M.S. Technologies L.L.C. Following burndown, Enlist Duo® and Enlist One® herbicides with Colex-D® technology are the only herbicides containing 2,4-D that are authorized for preemergence and postemergence use with Enlist® crops. Consult Enlist® herbicide labels for weed species controlled. Enlist Duo and Enlist One herbicides are not registered for use or sale in all states and counties; are not registered in AK, CA, CT, HI, ID, MA, ME, MT, NH, NV, OR, RI, UT, VT, WA and WY; and have additional subcounty restrictions in AL, GA, TN and TX, while existing county restrictions still remain in FL. All users must check “Bulletins Live! Two” no earlier than six months before using Enlist One or Enlist Duo. To obtain “Bulletins,” consult epa.gov/espp/, call 1-844-447-3813, or email ESPP@epa.gov. You must use the “Bulletin” valid for the month and state and county in which Enlist One or Enlist Duo are being applied. Contact your state pesticide regulatory agency if you have questions about the registration status of Enlist® herbicides in your area. ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. IT IS A VIOLATION OF FEDERAL AND STATE LAW TO USE ANY PESTICIDE PRODUCT OTHER THAN IN ACCORDANCE WITH ITS LABELING. ONLY USE FORMULATIONS THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY LABELED FOR SUCH USE IN THE STATE OF APPLICATION. USE OF PESTICIDE PRODUCTS, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, 2,4-D-CONTAINING PRODUCTS NOT AUTHORIZED FOR USE WITH ENLIST CROPS, MAY RESULT IN OFF-TARGET DAMAGE TO SENSITIVE CROPS/AREAS AND/OR SUSCEPTIBLE PLANTS, IN ADDITION TO CIVIL AND/OR CRIMINAL PENALTIES. Additional product-specific stewardship requirements for Enlist crops, including the Enlist Product Use Guide, can be found at www.traitstewardship.com.