The Future of Weed Resistance

The Future of Weed Resistance

Aaron Hager – professor of weed science, with glyphosate-resistant water hemp in a soybean field.

This is field day time, a chance for companies to show off their products and new technology in the field. New ways of controlling resistant weeds will be a popular topic at many of those field days. By this time of year, most growers have determined if they have resistant weeds in their fields,  and controlling those weeds is a hot topic this summer. Aaron Hager, Associate Professor of Weed Science at the University of Illinois, says staying ahead of weed resistance is a much better option than trying to react to it, “Because when you are in front of this, you can make the adjustment before it becomes a major problem in your operation. That is always a better position to be in than letting this get in front of you.”

Hager added that new research and new technology are giving farmers new options when it comes to staying ahead of weed resistance, “We know a lot more about resistance now and what practices can forestall the development of resistance than we did just 5 years ago.  So some of the recommendations have changed, so being aware of those things is something you as a grower can do to be proactive on preventing weed resistance.”

One of those new options is Liberty herbicide for corn. David Tanner, with Bayer Crop Science, told HAT that in 2017 Bayer is bringing back the Liberty technology to corn, “We think this is a great solution in combination with other herbicide programs. Right now there is no known resistance to Liberty in broad acre crops and that is a great place to be.  But, we know we must steward Liberty for the future.”

Another new chemistry available for growers is Balance GT. Lindsey Sites, with MS technology, says this new mode of action will offer growers some new options for control of weed resistance in soybeans. Hager says making the investment in this new technology is tough in a tough economy but warns that failure to deal with the issue today will only cost more in 2018 and beyond.

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