Fall Burndown with Sharpen® Herbicide

Do you have a tough battle with winter annual weeds when spring burndown season arrives?

One tough winter annual that is widespread in eastern NC is field pansy, also known as "Johnny-jump-up." The first time a farmer asked me if BASF had something to control, Johnny-jump-up, I had to do a web search to figure out what weed he was talking about. This weed looks dainty and has a pretty pansy flower, but don't let that deceive you; once it is flowering, it is very difficult to control.

📸: BASF employee/Featuring emergence of winter annual "Johnny-jump-up" field pansy weeds.

Research shows that fall herbicide applications are the most efficient way to control field pansy and other troublesome winter annual weeds. The photo comparison below shows a comparison of an untreated plot of field pansy versus a plot treated with Sharpen and glyphosate in the fall. These photos were taken 107 days after the application, and they show the value of a fall burndown application.

📸: BASF employee/Featuring an untreated field (Left) and a treated field with Sharpen® herbicide (Right) for effective weed-control.

If left alone throughout the fall and winter, field pansy will continue to grow and become more hardy and more difficult to control with spring burndown applications. This is also true of other winter annual weeds like marestail, henbit, and chickweed. If time and weather allow, consider fall applications of Sharpen® herbicide and glyphosate to control winter annuals. Fall burndown applications result in a cleaner start in the spring.

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