Key Word Being “Cope”
The New York Times contributor who wrote the recent article “Farmers Cope with Roundup-Resistant Weeds” picked a highly appropriate verb to describe the action farmers have taken when it comes to weed resistance management. Farmers have been coping with the changes Mother Nature has been throwing at them for centuries and that is exactly what they are doing today with the challenge of weed resistance.
Yes, some may be a little slower in accepting resistance as a real issue that can and will affect their farm if they do not take proactive measures, but that is human nature. When it comes down to it, growers are heeding the advice of experts who have recommended practices that have and will continue to minimize the spread of resistance. This observation is supported by the opening statement of the article with a statistic given by Ian Heap, director of the International Survey of Herbicide Resistant Weeds. Heap estimates that the total amount of United States farmland afflicted by Roundup®-resistant weeds is “relatively small” at seven million to 10 million acres of the roughly 170 million acres planted with corn, soybeans and cotton.
In order to keep the total amount of farmland afflicted “relatively small” and preserve the value of glyphosate and the GT technology:
● Use labeled herbicides rates
● Spray on time, rather than waiting too long and spraying “trophy weeds”
● Rotate crops year after year in the same field
● Rely on more than just glyphosate for weed control – use other herbicides with different modes of action
● Encourage your neighbors to manage weed resistance
● Consider the fact that weeds remember they are resistant – once resistance hits you can’t go back
To build a customized weed resistance management plan, visit the Resistance Fighter Solutions Builder.
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