Weed Resistance Sure to be Hot Topic again at Commodity Classic

Hillger on weed resistance

Commodity Classic is getting ready to kick off in a part of the country where snow and ice are not a concern, Kissimmee, Florida. For both farmers heading to classic and those staying home, weed control in their fields generates as much talk as the weather. The large companies are all working on new weed control systems and Dow AgroSciences’ Enlist system could be ready as early as next year.

David Hillger is the Enlist Indiana field specialist who likes to talk to growers like those at the Louisville show a couple of weeks ago about herbicide resistance.

“I had a few from Indiana up near the Merrillville area and they have a tremendous issue with Palmer amaranth. That ‘s becoming a real critical weed even for us here in Indiana because it’s a weed that’s resistant to glyphosate and they’re seeing it show up now in their soybean acres and they’re left with very few tools in that toolbox to control those weeds. We like to position this technology as another of those tools that they can put back in that toolbox to help control some of these weeds that otherwise they’re just going to lose soybean fields.”

He added there are still a few options in corn, “but even in corn we need to have more tools in that toolbox before we basically burn through what we do have.”

Dow currently offers Durango for post application and there is SureStart for pre-emergence application in corn all the way to early post. For soybeans there’s Sonic with 2 modes of action.

We’re seeing more and more interest in using Sonic pre-emergence as again an additional mode of action, in this case 2 modes of action that go after hard to control weeds, resistant weeds, and really lengthen that window applicators have to have concern over so they’re applying herbicides at the right time post-emergence.”

Hillger says that gives applicators a little more space to avoid an early spring rush to control weeds before they get out of control.

One of the elements of the Enlist system is a focus on the responsible use of the new technologies like combating weed resistance and reduction of spray drift. Hillger explains in the full HAT interview:David Hillger-Dow

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