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Agronomist discusses importance of residual herbicides

An agronomist says one of the most important things for controlling weeds this growing season will be the effective use of residual herbicides.  Bob Berkovich with Pioneer says residuals have an advantage. “Those residuals, they reduce the number and the size of the weeds that we need to spray post (emergence), which helps us protect our yield but also helps us make those post-emergence applications more effective.”

Berkovich tells Brownfield problem weeds like waterhemp can emerge from early May through August, so strong residual herbicide activity is vital, especially before the crop reaches canopy.  He says many farmers he works with have had clean fields until as late as July and then had weed problems at harvest time. “And I believe when that’s the case, it’s because those waterhemp emerged after the residual herbicide activity ran out but maybe before the crop canopied.”

Berkovich recommends frequent scouting throughout the growing season, and working with an agronomist to help select the right residual herbicide combinations and to have a backup plan in case weeds start getting the upper hand midseason.