Is 90 percent control good enough?
When it comes to weed management, sometimes what seem like acceptable control in some cases, may not be enough in others. In the case of weeds such as Palmer pigweed and waterhemp, weeds that produce in excess of 500,000 seeds per plant, even 90 percent control may not be enough.
Because weeds that are prolific seed producers have the potential to build up the seed bank if weeds are left at the end of the season, it becomes even more important to adequately control flushes throughout the season and to apply your herbicide application when weeds are still small.
Coming off of a very wet season in most parts of the Midwest, weeds may have flourished in areas where crops were drowned out, contributing to seed bank build up. The following photo shows gully erosion from the flooding in Indiana last year. In areas, like this, where the crop was drowned out, weeds can emerge. This photo shows a severe situation, and problems can occur in areas that didn't receive nearly this degree of damage.
The Syngenta Solution Builder on resistancefighter.com allows you to customize your weed management program. By answering a few easy questions, you will receive a personalized management program to help look at issues like increased waterhemp or Palmer pigweed pressure.
What level of weed control is sufficient for you? Do fields need to be 100 percent free of weeds in order for you to have achieved acceptable control? What factors determine this "magic number?"
For more information, check out these additional resources:
Cost of Resistance: Yield Loss from Resistant Weeds- Waterhemp
Glyphosate-Resistant Waterhemp: Challenges and Solutions
Glyphosate-resistant Palmer pigweed Bulletin