To Avoid Frustration, Be Proactive
February 14, 2012 Once frustrated by Palmer amaranth in his farmers’ cotton fields, Georgia crop consultant Paul Brown has taken a proactive stance on weed control. The result is cleaner fields in 2011.
At a field day in Perry, GA, sponsored by Deltapine in late August, growers gathered to hear more about Brown’s weed-management program.
The field was planted to Deltapine’s DP 1048 B2RF.
“One of the take home messages I wanted attendees at the field day to hear is to be proactive and use multiple modes of action,” said Brown of Southern Ag Services in Perry. “We’ve used seven modes of action in the field we showcased.”
Growers can no longer afford to wait for weeds to emerge before taking action against them, Brown said. Overlapping residuals in a 21- to 30-day window is a key to keeping fields clean. A timely preventative weed control program will allow growers several options in herbicide technology for maximum yield in any field infested with pigweed.
Brown’s recommended herbicide program begins with a burndown applied up to 30 days prior to planting with either a tank-mix of Gramoxone and Diuron, or Roundup plus Diuron, depending on weed complex and timing of application. This is followed by a residual herbicide spray behind the planter. In the case of the field day location, Prowl and Reflex were used and irrigation was applied to activate the herbicides.
“Roundup was applied over-the-top up to two true leaves, as there were no pigweeds emerged in the field,” said Brown. “Staple was applied at 4 to 5 true leaves to manage morningglory, as well as pre-emergence activity for pigweed. The field stayed relatively clean from mid-post to layby.”
Hooded sprayers were utilized on this farm with an Ignite plus Valor herbicide tank-mix in the row-middles. Valor plus MSMA was post-directed to provide residual control and to keep from damaging the cotton. At the end of the year, hand-labor was hired to remove some of the remaining escaped pigweeds.
Brown’s proactive approach is supported by the Roundup Ready PLUS Weed Management Solutions platform, which offers incentives for growers to use multiple modes-of-action in their weed management programs. Ignite was not part of the platform, but many products he used were.
Ty Fowler, territory agronomist for Deltapine cotton, spoke to the growers about DP 1048 B2RF management and why this specific variety is in such high demand in Georgia.
“DP 1048 B2RF was in high-demand this spring,” Fowler said. “Everyone wanted this variety for one reason — it has the highest top-end yield potential of any Deltapine variety on good dirt, under irrigation. It is not going to be as aggressive growing as DP 1050 B2RF. It’s going to be easier to manage with PGR applications.”
Fowler is excited about combining the high-yield potential of DP 1048 B2RF with the weed control of the Roundup Ready PLUS Weed Management Solutions platform.
“With a good control program, growers can still choose the varieties that offer the most yield potential, and not just focus on what weed control program will be the most convenient. A lot of times what is the most convenient program, turns out to not be the cleanest program.”
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