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With wheat seed in the ground, now's the time to scoutKansas Not many years ago, when wheat farmers planted their crop in the fall, they could relax a bit over winter. But when wheat prices are hovering around the $6 per bushel threshold, the incentive to maximize production from the 2009 wheat fields begins this fall, scouting for weeds that can sap yields. "Take into consideration the field history," suggests Dallas Peterson, weed specialist for K-State Research and Extension. "A past problem with winter annual broadleaves and grasses will in most cases be a problem this year." The question, of course, is how much of a weed problem must exist before treatment is warranted. "There are no hard and fast rules on how many weeds will be a problem, as far as yield loss goes. It depends on when weeds emerge, relative to the crop. Eventually, there will be harvest issues and dockage. It is never simple and never uniform. A scattered plant here and there may not be worth treating. But if you had a problem last year, a herbicide application may be worth it," Peterson explains. "Scout fields, make a plan and time herbicide application for the best performance." This fall, many farmers planted wheat earlier than normal, as planting conditions were nearly ideal. Consequently, few weeds may have germinated and been controlled prior to planting. Thus a large flush of winter annual weeds may occur after planting, necessitating a herbicide application. Fortunately, farmers have access to a wide arsenal of crop protection products for winter annual weed control. Farmers often are hesitant to make an application until spring green-up, combining the herbicide application with top-dressing fertilizer. This is a common practice, but may result in compromised weed control, Peterson says. Winter annual weeds, especially grasses such as cheat and downy brome are more susceptible to fall than spring treatments. However, summer annual weeds that come up in the spring, such as kochia and wild buckwheat may not be controlled with a fall treatment, unless the herbicide has good residual activity. Peterson says there are two new herbicides available to Kansas wheat farmers this fall. They are: --PowerFlex, from Dow AgroSciences. Using a new active ingredient called pyroxsulam, PowerFlex controls downy brome, cheat, Italian ryegrass and many mustard species. Based on K-State trials, PowerFlex has been slightly more effective at controlling downy brome than the other grass herbicides, particularly if application is made in the spring. "PowerFlex may cost a little more than some of the other cheatgrass herbicides, but also provides good broadleaf weed control and shorter crop rotation restrictions," Peterson says. More information is available at www.PowerFlexHerbicide.com --Huskie, from Bayer CropScience. Huskie uses a new active ingredient pyrasulfotole, to control winter annual broadleaves. Pyrasulfotole is a "bleacher," meaning it shuts down the photosynthetic pathway of weeds, rendering the plant defenseless against sunlight. Most current broadleaf herbicides for wheat are ALS-inhibitors. "We are seeing more ALS-resistant weeds such as bushy wallflower and flixweed/tansy mustard, so it's good to have a new mode of action," Peterson notes. "In our tests, Huskie does a good job on most of the winter annual weeds and can be applied fall or spring, post-emerge. Ideally, we want warmer temperatures and active weed growth for Huskie applications, so Huskie application may not fit the ideal topdress scenario." More information is available at www.bayercropscienceus.com. 10/20/08 Date: 10/16/08 Advertisement
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