A Clean Start Begins This Fall.

Beans are starting to turn, and most corn is nearing black layer in our area. In my travels throughout the SFG territory, there has been quite a bit of corn chopping going on over the past few weeks, and most everyone is getting combines ready to head to the field. As we get closer to harvest, it is also time to start thinking about fall applications of herbicide to keep winter annuals under control and give us a clean start next spring.

This spring, we ran into quite a bit of marestail and henbit, both of which emerge in the fall and can be greatly reduced or even eliminated in problem fields with a properly timed fall application. Marestail has presented a real problem for us in the past when it comes to controlling it in soybeans. Some of our newer chemistries have made marestail control better in recent years, but the best way to control marestail I have found is to never let it get started in the first place.

Fall applications of 2,4-D and dicamba together have been very successful over the past few years at giving growers a clean start to the season and keeping fields free of these winter annual weeds. A fall burndown can be a valuable tool for fields that have a history of marestail, henbit, or other winter annuals, especially when those weeds have been difficult to manage in the spring. Planning ahead and addressing these weeds in the fall can make the spring workload easier and help fields get off to a cleaner start.

If you would like to discuss fall spraying options or have questions about using a fall burndown to control weeds, contact your local SFG agronomist. We can help evaluate problem fields and determine what options may work best for your operation. Getting ahead of winter annuals this fall can help set your fields up for a cleaner and more successful start next spring.