Canola School: Keeping an eye on the early competition

Canola is not a very competitive crop in its early stages, so keeping an eye on the competition is key.

We’ve covered on the Canola School why a pre-emerge herbicide pass can be valuable, but of course, the next step is to watch for weeds that have emerged with the crop.

Sean McKnight, technical service specialist for herbicides with BASF, stresses the importance of early scouting to be aware of what’s out there, so you can properly establish the proper rate, product, or whether a herbicide pass is even required.

“The smaller the weed, the easier it should be to control,” says McKnight. “When we get large weeds in crop, we’re really pushing the limits of herbicides, and that’s when we can get in trouble for sure when it comes to maximizing the efficacy there.”

As herbicide resistance rears its ugly head, paying attention to modes of action is also a big part of this conversation, says McKnight, as well as considering a herbicide layering program.

“It’s really important to discuss with an agronomist, or even when you’re making your herbicide plans, just to really plan out — probably years in advance — in terms of what your herbicide program is. We want to make sure we’re rotation modes of action, layering multiple modes of action, because we want to really try and limit those selection events, your selection pressures on those herbicides,” he explains.

Check out the full conversation about early weed control between McKnight and RealAgriculture’s Kara Oosterhuis, below:

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