The Cultural Approach
While there are chemistries and products that can be used to fight off resistance in your fields, other important resistance management tools to consider are cultural practices. Non-chemical weed control techniques are essential for a sustainable crop management system.
Some cultural practices recommended by the North Central Weed Science Society include:
- Rotate crops: Rotating crops allows you to rotate herbicides. Also, try to rotate crops that have different life cycles.
- Mechanical cultivation: Where feasible, tillage and cultivation are great weed management tools.
- Keep clean: Clean your tillage and harvest equipment before moving from fields infested with resistant weeds to those that are not. Also, check your shoes and clothing to make sure you are not carrying seeds or pollen.
- Scout fields: Scout fields regularly to identify weeds and weed escapes. Respond quickly to changes in weed populations to help curtail the spread of weeds.
Remember that a key for herbicide resistance management is to keep rotating modes of action to help keep weeds from developing a resistance to a certain chemistry, like glyphosate. Management practices coupled with rotating herbicide modes of action will help to control the spread of herbicide resistant weeds and will help to keep your fields cleaner and healthier and in so doing, can help to increase yields and bottom lines.
What is your weed management program? How do you incorporate cultural practices? How have you found them to be effective?