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Waterhemp control remains challenging

A corn product manager and agronomist with Peterson Farms Seed says the recent conditions haven’t helped farmers in the Northern Plains manage waterhemp.

“There’s been some cool weather, some nice weather, too, but then we get cool again three days after that.”

Rick Swenson tells Brownfield there’s also been hot days with low humidity, which makes it more difficult for some herbicides to provide good control.

“After a couple of applications, the waterhemp keeps rebounding,” he says. “We’ve been encouraing farmers to put lay-bys on, any kind of pre-emergence product, even if it’s post emergence, get that stuff out there and control the weeds before they ever come up. I think that’s our best solution moving forward.”

He says herbicide resistance doesn’t help the situation and farmers should monitor the corn for any weeds that pop up.