Indiana Farmer Finds Weed Control From Enlist Duo® Herbicide ‘Phenomenal’
Luke Liechty is dedicated to improving the productivity on his family’s Berne, Indiana, farm now and for the future. He’s adopting practices that improve soil as well as productivity and profitability.
“Soil is our greatest asset,” Liechty says. “In our operation, cover crops have been really beneficial to us for three reasons. First is erosion control. Second is rebuilding natural soil organic matter. Third is residue to help retain moisture during our hot, dry summers.”
To enhance productivity and profitability, Liechty and his family like to test new technologies that improve their corn, soybean, wheat and alfalfa crops. One that he has tried is the Enlist™ weed control system.
“We’re really interested in the Enlist system because of weed resistance,” he says. “The last couple years, waterhemp has been a huge issue for us. Waterhemp is just a nasty weed in general.”
Enlist Duo® herbicide is providing a solution.
“The control Enlist Duo provided was phenomenal,” Liechty says. Within a day, he reports, target weeds started to curl. Within two weeks, they had wilted beyond recovery.
“I didn’t see drift or volatility when applying Enlist Duo,” Liechty adds. “As an applicator, I do everything in my power to make sure I steward products well. Having a product that you know is going to stay where you placed it is huge.”
One thing about Enlist Duo surprised Liechty: the lack of odor.
“When I sprayed it, I was like ’Wow, it doesn’t smell like 2,4-D. That’s awesome.’” he says. Even on a dewy morning there was only a hint of the characteristic 2,4-D odor.
“The Enlist program provides lots of options in terms of managing your weeds,” Liechty says. “I think a lot of American farmers love to have options, and when you utilize the Enlist program, you have options to control your weeds. You’re not just relying on one mode of action. If you start with a good preemergence herbicide and follow with a postemergence application of Enlist Duo herbicide, you can really have phenomenal control of hard-to-control weeds.”
What’s the bottom line on the Enlist™ weed control system?
“The biggest value for the Enlist program on our farm is confidence,” Liechty says. “It’s confidence knowing that I can go out there and control weeds that are difficult to control right now.”
