BASF agronomist Rob Miller says tillage can play an important role in weed control, but integrating additional tools will always result in a better strategy.
About this episode Real Agriculture Soybean SchoolMiller illustrates this point with a close look at a 2023 wheat field that was burned in the fall and underwent light tillage to close out the year.
Miller said the view from the edge of the field is pretty good, but once he starts scouting the field, it doesn’t take long to find a colony of sow thistle that has survived plowing, making it a poor choice for IP soybeans and dry bean crops. He said it could be a difficult challenge. .
While digging up these weeds, Mr. Miller noticed that the small sow thistle had rapidly developing rhizomes 2 to 3 inches underground. “When you get here at the beginning of the year with high-speed disks, the problems start multiplying,” he says. “One plant turns into two or three.” (Story continues after video.)
Until further growth occurs, it is difficult to control these weeds with tillage or herbicides. “Weeds tend to get cut down,” Miller says. “It’s really hard to get it to penetrate and get into the roots until we get a little later in the season and a little more green growth starts.”
If IP soybeans emerge before these weeds are controlled, it can be difficult to remove, Miller says. In the video, he shares management options for herbicide-tolerant soybeans, including increasing glyphosate rates and adding a second mode of action to the spray tank.
“We can’t eliminate everything in just one year. It’s going to be a three- to five-year process,” Miller said. He advises growers to get out and scout, understand the weeds in their fields and not rely solely on tillage as an effective means of weed control.
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