This year, the organizers of the Crop Diagnostic School in Carman, Manitoba, decided to do something a little old-school. “We decided to demo soil-applied herbicides here at the farm this year for the Diagnostic School, in part because we’re seeing an increased use in the products,” Jeanette Gaultier explains in the following interview. Gaultier (who may or… Read More
Category: Herbicide Resistant Weeds
If you’ve noticed more than a few fleabane “escapes” in recent years, you’re not alone. Glyphosate resistant Canada fleabane has spread across more than 700 kilometers of Ontario crop land in just five years. Despite its incredible distribution, Canada fleabane wasn’t the first glyphosate resistant weed found in Ontario, says Dr. Peter Sikkema, field crop… Read More
If you look up the term “superweed,” you’ll likely find a definition that includes “herbicide-resistance” and “accidental crossing” of genetically engineered plants and their “wild” counterparts. But, that could be changing, thanks in part to the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA). “Since superweed is now clearly part of the public vernacular, we decided to… Read More
The pictures are rolling in and it appears that the wheat that did get in the ground last fall (or was it winter?) did actually make it. Maple syrup season has wrapped up, to mixed reviews on volume (but you can bet it still tastes great), but that also means it’s warming up — and a… Read More
How good is your weed identification? If you had to answer if a weed was a “late flushing” weed or a winter annual, could you answer? While no weed specialist expects every farmer to be a weed expert, knowing a few specific details about your enemy is actually quite helpful in the war on resistance…. Read More
From seeding rates, to seeding date, crop rotation and more, managing herbicide resistant weeds is about so much more than just what you decide to spray your fields with. That’s because each decision that impacts weed pressure, also impacts weed control, and every time you go over your crops with a herbicide, you’re putting selection… Read More
Herbicide resistant wild oats are pretty easy to identify, says Neil Harker, a research scientist in weed ecology and crop management at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Lacombe Research Centre. “You generally see them in patches. If you see [wild oats] in real straight lines, then you suspect a sprayer error, but if you just see them in… Read More
Why do we speed when we know it’s wrong? Why do we text while driving? Why smoke, when we know it’s bad? Why continue overusing traditional chemistry herbicide applications when we know they’re causing problems? That’s what Canadian weed scientists want to know. They’re getting frustrated with what seems to be farmers’ general unwillingness to… Read More
There are at least two reasons why having an added herbicide tolerance gene built-in to a soybean variety makes sense — one, to make up for early season non-competitiveness of the crop, and, two, because of the increasing risk of glyphosate-tolerant weeds. To that end, Monsanto recently rolled out its soybean XTend trait — dicamba… Read More
It’s been over one hundred years since the powered rotary hoe was invented, and we may not be done with it quite yet. Research by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is being conducted around using the rotary hoe as a weed management tool in pulses, inspired in combination by previous work in the organic sector and the… Read More
You probably noticed myself and Lyndsey tweeting rapidly last week using the hasgtag, #momentumtour. We joined the Monsanto Momentum Tour on the Brandon stop and had a great time. Monsanto is touring across the prairie provinces to show growers the latest in its two trait releases. Here is our wrapup from Brandon, and as usual… Read More
Palmer amaranth could be the next glyphosate resistance weed problem for Ontario farmers. University of Arkansas weed scientist Jason Norsworthy calls it “pigweed on steroids.” Norsworthy, who first saw glyphosate-resistant palmer amaranth in Arkansas in 2006, says the weed can grow two to three inches a day after it reaches four inches tall. “You can… Read More
Few crops are hyper-competitive right off the start. A cool spring can also mean that the crop you want to take off doesn’t, and the weeds get a head start. This is especially true of winter annuals which begin growing as soon as the snow recedes, but also applies to spring germinating weeds as well…. Read More
Farmers do a great job of in-crop weed control, which is great, seeing as weeds competing with the crop for nutrients and sunlight steal from yield. That said, a recent survey suggests that farmers are missing a key window of time for weed control — the four-week window after winter wheat harvest — that could… Read More
Herbicide resistant weeds are one of the struggles and items of adversity that farmers face around the world. Whether you plant in Australia, United States of Canada there is likely to be a weed in your area that carries resistance and is impacting your ability to achieve top yields. HAVE YOU REGISTERED YET FOR FARMTECH… Read More