Features Herbicides Seed & Chemical
Importance of managing weeds in the fall

Sept. 9, 2013, Mississauga, ON - According to researchers at the University of Alberta, more than 7.7 million hectares of Western Canada farmland are infested with herbicide-resistant weeds, and the number is growing. Along with proper crop rotations, changing up timing and herbicide rotations are excellent strategies for managing weed resistance.

In the last year, the University of Alberta, with the support of BASF Canada, has conducted trials in post-harvest herbicide applications to see the effects of managing weeds in the fall. The researchers found applying a post-harvest application of DISTINCT herbicide reduces the seed set in kochia by 50 per cent.

In BASF grower trials, DISTINCT is found to also provide excellent weed control in perennial and winter annual weeds such as narrow-leaved hawk's beard, Canada thistle and dandelion.

"With an application to those weeds in the fall, growers get them when they're beginning to take carbohydrates from the leaves down into the roots, enabling them to overwinter. Waiting until spring can be too late because weeds can start growing early, getting too big and becoming much harder to control with a spring application," said Bryce Geisel, technical development specialist for BASF Canada. "A post-harvest application allows growers to focus pre-seed burndown on those spring germinating weeds and eliminates the need to worry about perennial and winter annual weed escapes in your crop."

In the past, growers had limited options for herbicide applications when it came to re-cropping to canola, but new chemistries offered in DISTINCT provide growers with more options to help manage weeds. DISTINCT sets fields up for success in the spring and offers a wide window of rotational crop freedom. Applied by October 1, growers can seed any cereal crop and canola.

A post-harvest burndown allows growers to start with a cleaner field come spring, meaning far less weed competition during seeding. Using multiple modes of action and executing a post-harvest strategy help delay resistant weeds and establish better seeding and crop conditions, improving yield opportunity the following season.

September 9, 2013  By BASF