Don’t Let Weeds Get the First Start This Spring

Looking out the window at three inches of blowing snow, it’s hard to believe planting season is only about a month away. Still, we’ll be ready to hit the field with pre-emerge herbicides as soon as the planters start rolling. Using pre-emerge products is the best way to give your crop a jump start on weed control and protect yield potential.

As we all know, weed control continues to become more challenging. Putting together a two-pass program that includes a strong pre-emerge product is almost a must anymore.

For soybeans, the products we are promoting this year are Preview + Moccassin and Zidua Pro. Both provide three modes of action along with residual control for a broad spectrum of weeds. One of the most troublesome weeds we deal with is tall waterhemp, and controlling it requires the use of strong residual products. The most effective strategy is killing the weed as it germinates or when it’s still small. Simply put, weeds you don’t see are weeds you don’t have. Waiting until weeds are up and relying solely on Enlist or Liberty to clean fields up is not a good long-term strategy. Both products are effective, but we want to preserve their effectiveness.

In corn, our most popular pre-emerge product is Priority MA. This three-mode-of-action product provides both burndown and residual control. It is an Atrazine-based product that performs well in most cropping scenarios and can be used either pre- or post-emerge.

There are many ways to approach weed control with different chemical combinations. Reach out to your SFG agronomist to put together a tailored chemical program that fits your farm.