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MSU Weed Tour shows impact of drought

A weed extension specialist says control efforts have been hindered by dry conditions.

Michigan State University’s Christy Sprague tells Brownfield soil-applied herbicides need moisture to activate and that’s been in short supply.

“A lot of those soil-applied products really did not get moved into the soil and are not showing a lot of good performance,” she shares.

Sprague says weeds have also stopped actively growing which has created some limitations in post-emergence products.

The MSU Weeds Tour this Wednesday will allow growers to see current research trials and which products have been the most effective despite the dryness.

“When we have non-GMO soybeans, we’re using some of our traditional herbicides that could cause some injury and without moisture, for those beans to actively metabolize those herbicides,” she explains.  “It’ll be interesting to see how long it takes for those beans to recover from some of that herbicide damage.”

Sprague says trial results and economic analysis of products will be published at the end of this year.