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Pigweed causing farmers to rethink farming methodsArkansas Ken Smith, Ph.D., weed specialist with the University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture, says producers have lost this year's battle against nature's forces, whether through heavy rains at planting and harvest or through the infestation of glyphosate resistant pigweed. Pigweed poses a major threat because of its rapid growth rate--more than an inch daily--and the proliferation that results from a single plant producing 250,000 seeds. It can easily top eight-feet in height, with stalks as thick as baseball bats at its base. Palmer pigweed has the potential of causing catastrophic damage if it continues to spread since no new herbicide is expected to be available in the near future. It was found at some level in 750,000 acres in Arkansas this year. "Yields will be reduced, and many of our farmers are asking what to do for next year," Smith says. "We know we've lost this year, but we can think and plan for next year." While standing in a soybean test plot, Smith says he has found some workable solutions for controlling glyphosate resistant pigweed in soybeans next season. In one half of the study, pre-emergence herbicides were applied, while the other half received post-emergence treatments. "The half that got pre-emerge is clean," Smith says, "it really does not matter which pre-emergence we use, it could be Prefix, it could be Authority MTZ, it could be Valor, but in this study and others in other locations, the side that received pre-emergence applications are clean." On the clean side, a residual herbicide was applied up front, followed later with Roundup, followed again by Roundup plus Dual applied over the top. When herbicides were applied post-weed emergence on the other side of the study, a weed infested field resulted even when many of the same chemicals were applied. "I think that this is a really, really important point for us next year in our production practices to consider the importance of pre-emerge weed control in soybeans in our glyphosate resistant pigweed areas," says Smith. Smith is optimistic the lessons learned this year combating Palmer pigweed, the fifth glyphosate-resistant weed species to be documented in Arkansas, will prove beneficial with the 2010 soybean crop if producers plan ahead. Producers should take note of their fields now, looking for pigweed and other weeds, and keeping records of infestations and when they treated their fields. "It is important to record this information before harvest because it will all be erased in the field after harvest," Smith recommends. Smith is confident Arkansas farmers will adapt, just as they have in the past. And that means preserving herbicides, especially glyphosate, in a well balanced crop management program built around residual herbicides to extend weed control between applications. "If applied properly and if Mother Nature smiles on us, the answer to pigweed is more manageable than we may think," Smith said. For more information, visit www.uaex.edu and click on the soybean podcasts.
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