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Herbicide resistance is one of the biggest problems modern growers face. Currently, 530 unique cases of herbicide resistance have been reported in different weeds.¹
But as the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and focusing on early prevention of herbicide-resistant weeds can mean less investment and fewer headaches for farmers further into the growing season. By prioritizing proactive weed management practices like the ones outlined below, growers may be able to avoid the costs and labor of unplanned herbicide applications and the potential for total crop loss.²
📸: @DarcyMaulsby via Canva/Featuring a soybean field with heavy weed pressure.
Integrated weed management (IWM) practices are widely recognized as a useful approach to reducing the incidence of herbicide resistance. Integrated weed management (IWM) is a category of integrated pest management (IPM) that combats herbicide resistance by using multiple weed-control methods simultaneously.
Because of the plethora of weed species and their widely varying life cycles and survival tactics, using a single weed control measure is not effective. Using just one or even two methods of weed control allows the weeds to adapt and become resistant to those practices. An IWM program for your operation can be an effective and comprehensive weed control option. IWM is based on several basic principles, including preventive agronomic practices that limit the introduction and spread of weeds before they take hold, practices that encourage the crop's ability to compete and choke out weeds, and weed control methods that disrupt the weed's ability to adapt and develop resistance.
Three active ingredients make up 50% of the corn herbicide market. To avoid or at least delay an invasion of herbicide-resistant weeds, it's critical to use herbicides with multiple modes of action and to support them by employing additional weed-management methods. Experts suggest an integrated management approach that combines mechanical, cultural and herbicidal weed control methods is most effective in controlling herbicide-resistant weeds.
Management practices to help control herbicide resistant weeds include the following:
It is recommended that you not make more than two consecutive applications of herbicides with the same mode of action in one field without implementing other additional effective control practices.³ Depending on your crop, consider herbicide formulations like Surtain™ Herbicide, Verdict® Herbicide and Zidua® PRO Herbicide that contain multiple modes of action and have long lasting residual control on resistant weeds like Palmer amaranth and waterhemp.
Applying post-emergence herbicide treatment at the proper time is vital to minimize competition with the cash crop. Including a residual like Outlook® herbicide or Zidua herbicide with your post knockdown chemistry provides the needed control to get you to canopy. Always read and follow label instructions when planning your product applications and don’t hesitate to pick the brain of your seed retailer, a nearby extension office agent, or regional BASF representative.
This practice can be laborious and time consuming but may save your crop from a potentially devastating invasion of herbicide-resistant weeds. It is recommended that you employ a zero-tolerance policy and walk your fields to not only to determine ideal timing for a herbicide application, but also following your application, to timely destroy weed escapes with alternative measures, if needed.
Herbicide resistant weeds can be easily spread as you move tillage, planting and harvesting equipment from field to field. To reduce the spread of herbicide-resistant biotypes, thoroughly clean all equipment before moving from a field with suspected herbicide resistance and going on to the next field.
📸: @United Soybean Board via Flickr/Featuring an example of an uncontrolled weed escape.
Mechanical weeding that uses in-field equipment can be an effective additional weed management practice, especially in row crops. This approach is more economical than manual labor due to the ability to leverage tillage equipment such as harrows, weeders and cultivators.⁴ Although there are many benefits to adopting a reduced or no-till system, one of the downsides is that after years of no-till, plant residue may build significantly on the surface of the soil, creating a detrimental barrier between the soil and plant surfaces and herbicide applications. Research has shown that you can avoid this risk by doing occasional tillage passes (one tillage pass in 5 to 10 years) without negatively affecting soil health.⁵
Certain species of cover crop can produce enough biomass to suppress winter annual or summer annual weeds. Since crop residue creates somewhat of a barrier against weeds that usually take advantage of fallow crop fields in between cash crops, planting winter-hardy cover crops in the fall creates competition for the weeds, potentially minimizing the weed population's growth and establishment. Additionally, if you choose to terminate the cover crop and leave crop residue in the field, that plant matter will subsequently turn to mulch, which also may help suppress weed seed germination and growth.
Crop rotation helps in the effort to manage herbicide-resistant weeds. Since the modes of action that can be applied to each crop species differ, you can use a more diverse array of herbicides.
Herbicide-resistant weeds appear to be evolving faster than ever, so it's critical to maximize the effectiveness of every herbicide application. Enhancing your herbicide-resistant weed management protocol doesn't mean you should ditch herbicides — far from it. The goal is to implement practices that work to preserve the usefulness and efficiency of herbicides as a part of an integrated management program to minimize the pressure of resistant weeds.
If you have questions about what additional weed management tools you should be incorporating into your organization or are curious about the herbicide products with multiple modes of action that exist to help, reach out to a BASF representative to learn more.
Take a deeper dive into information about herbicide-resistant weeds and techniques that can help fight them:
Experts are available to help you make your decisions. Reach out to your seed retailer, a nearby extension office agent, or a seed company professional like your regional BASF representative.
Always read and follow label directions. Grow Smart, Verdict, Zidua and Outlook are registered trademarks of BASF. Surtain is a trademark of BASF. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners and use of any such trademark does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by its owner. © 2024 BASF Corporation. All rights reserved.
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