By Mark Loux
Based on the current price of wheat, some wheat fields with less than ideal stands are being taken to yield instead of terminated. A uniform wheat stand usually provides most of the weed control that’s needed. Weeds will likely be more evident and in need of control where stands are thin or erratic. We have been told wheat herbicides are scarce, so growers might want to check with suppliers soon. Reminder that any product containing dicamba has to be applied prior to jointing. Link to wheat herbicide effectiveness table and growth stage chart.
Reminder about the potential for spring infestations of cressleaf groundsel in wheat, forages, and hayfields. This weed, poisonous to livestock, is a winter annual that emerges in the fall and flowers in the spring. It’s most likely to occur in new stands that are seeded the previous summer/fall. Growers are often not aware of this weed’s presence until it does flower, at which point the only course of action is to destroy the first cutting of hay to avoid risk of poisoning. Fields should ideally be scouted and treated in the fall when groundsel is easier to control. Where that didn’t occur, scout now and treat when it’s still small. More information on cressleaf groundsel can be found in a previous C.O.R.N. article, fact sheet, video, and slides.
Update on the mesotrione article in last issue. The mestrione products that are labeled for use on “mesotrione-tolerant” or “mesotrione-resistant” soybean varieties can apparently legally be applied to any GT27 soybean (since every GT27 soybean carries this resistance). We stated in the article that the seed tag had to also indicate the variety was “mesotrione-resistant or tolerant”, but we were subsequently provided new information by ODA. This label is for preemergence use only, not postemergence.
There seems to be some optimism that USEPA will fairly soon approve an amended label for Enlist products that “fixes” the prohibition in 12 Ohio counties. The amended label was submitted by Corteva a while back. No one can say for certain when approval will come because – well – it’s the EPA. Note to anyone in EPA that might be listening – having bungled the whole dicamba thing for four straight years, maybe you could throw us a bone and demonstrate some expediency on this issue.
Source : osu.edu