Can’t Tolerate Weeds? Put Residuals to Work in a Program Approach
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If you maintain a zero-tolerance policy for weeds, adopt a program approach that takes advantage of residual herbicides. That process starts before the seed goes into the ground.
“When we’re planting, we want a clean field,” says Steve Snyder, Enlist™ field specialist. “We want to start clean with tillage or a quality burndown program. Once you get behind on weed control, you’re usually behind most of the year.”
He says success comes from timing and using different sites of action.
“It’s much easier to kill a weed that has only one or two growing points,” Snyder explains. “That’s why it’s important to get your preemergence herbicide out prior to or soon after planting. For instance in E3 soybean fields, you can apply Sonic and Surveil herbicides three days after planting.”
Residuals provide 4-6 weeks of control if they get occasional moisture. But, eventually, that protection wears out. That’s where it pays to use layered residuals.
“By layered residuals, we mean adding a residual product to your postemergence application program,” Snyder says. “We like EverpreX, which is an s-metolachlor product. There are other options as well. If you apply a layered residual with an Enlist herbicide during late June or early July, you can expand protection until the crop canopies and weed pressure declines.”
Snyder also contends multiple sites of action offer important near- and long-term benefits. He recommends using at least three or four sites of action per crop. For example, a lot of preemergence herbicides feature two or three sites of action. Then, as part of a postemergence program, Enlist Duo® herbicide offers two more – 2,4-D choline and glyphosate. Or you can get those two additional sites by tank-mixing Enlist One® (2,4-D choline) with glyphosate or Liberty® herbicide (glufosinate). Add a qualified residual to the application of an Enlist™ herbicide, and you get a fifth site of action.
“Different sites of action working on that weed gives us more effective control,” Snyder says. It also helps reduce potential for resistance in the future.
“We got used to relying on one mode of action in the past, and we know the results of that,” Snyder says. “We don’t want that to happen again. We want to be able to use this tool not just one or two years but for many years.”
Snyder urges farmers to take advantage of additional resources.
“We have lots of resources covering everything you need to know about implementing a program approach to weed control,” he says. You can also check out farmer stories and learn more from videos on our channel at YouTube.com.
ENLIST E3® soybean technology is jointly developed by Dow AgroSciences LLC and MS Technologies LLC. Liberty® is a registered trademark of BASF.
Steve Snyder
Steve Snyder is an Enlist™ field specialist and serves as the in-field expert for the Enlist weed control system in the upper Midwest, including the Dakotas and Minnesota. His area includes a large number of soybean acres. Steve has more than 30 years of experience in crop protection with Dow AgroSciences and Corteva Agriscience. Snyder and other Enlist field specialists are experts in weed management, application technology and crop research.