Resistant to five modes of action, can travel a half mile or further under windy conditions, and remain viable in the soil for several years — there is no doubt about it, waterhemp is a beast.
“Whether they are from Missouri, Illinois, or Minnesota, it sounds like they all have a very similar problem with weeds in their fields,” said Lyndsie Kaehler, US Corn Herbicides Product Manager, Dow AgroSciences at the 2017 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois. “We want to talk about waterhemp in particular because that remains the number one driver weed when we talk about late season emergence and also herbicide resistant strains that are there in the field today.”
As growers evaluate their herbicide performance and start to make decisions about what to do in 2018, Kaehler said they really need to consider when to apply their herbicide and at what rate. They should also make sure they are choosing herbicides with multiple modes of action that are going to be active in controlling waterhemp.
“In corn in particular I think it is really important that we put a full rate of herbicide down on the front end and then follow that up with a post pass,” Kaehler said.
She recommends using Sure Start II, which has been out on the market for a number of years and very popular among growers that are really looking for multiple modes of action to control a broad spectrum of weeds.
Growers have also seen results with Dow AgroScience’s latest corn herbicide offering. Introduced in 2016 and fully released in 2017, Resicore corn herbicide is a novel formulation featuring three leading active ingredients and three modes of action to deliver powerful broad-spectrum control of broadleaf weeds and annual grasses.
Kaehler said it’s the unprecedented power to control weeds like waterhemp that makes Resicore stand out.
“Waterhemp tends to be more difficult too because it is later emerging in the season than most other annual weeds so using a herbicide that has a good amount of residual control for waterhemp is going to be really important as corn growers think about their herbicide choice and Resicore corn herbicide is a great choice,” Kaehler said.
With harvest coming up, Kaehler advises getting a jump start on a plan for 2018.
“I would recommend sitting down with your agronomist and discussing a planned approach to weed control,” Kaehler said. “Let’s use a good rate of herbicide down with multiple modes of action. Then it’s also important we scout and make a timely post application to control weeds when they are small. We can burn them down and then also get a residual to keep those fields clean until we get into canopy, and so we can come back to a great field come harvest time.”
