Weed Management Resources

Despite most herbicide applications being concluded, there are scattered fields with weeds such as waterhemp and Palmer amaranth poking through the soybean canopy.

The EPA has officially canceled the labels of Xtendimax, Engenia, and FeXapan and has ceased the sale and distribution of the three products effective June 3, 2020. The exceptions is that farmers and commercial applicators may apply product that was in their possession, as of June 3, 2020, up until July 31, 2020.

Italian ryegrass (AKA: annual ryegrass) continues to be a major weed in Kentucky wheat acres, and has arguably become tougher to control over the last several years. This spring in particular we observed numerous wheat fields in western and central Kentucky that had ryegrass escapes late in the season and at harvest.

The University of Kentucky Weed Science Program will be hosting two field days at the UKREC in Princeton, Kentucky in 2019.  The Pest Management Field Day will be held on July 2, 2019 and the Spray Clinic will be held on July 18, 2019.

The University of Kentucky Weed Science program will be hosting a field day in Ballard County, Kentucky with a focus on the management of Palmer amaranth.  The field day will be held on July 12th.

The month of June has arrived and so too will postemergence soybean applications, many of which are likely to contain the dicamba formulations of Xtendimax, Engenia, or FeXapan. As we approach these coming weeks when many of our dicamba application are likely to be applied it is time to have a refresher on the label restrictions and guidelines for applying these products.

As we approach the time in which we will be switching from corn planting to soybeans, this compression still holds true as we strive to get soybean into the ground.  Under these strenuous conditions there is a tendency to cut out things or skip steps, especially when it comes to weed control and use of pre-emergence herbicides.

The University of Kentucky Field School will be hosting a Spray Clinic on July 17 at the University of Kentucky Research and Education Center in Princeton, KY.  The spray clinic will feature in-field demonstrations and an interactive experience for clinic participants.

Like all agricultural practices there can be drawbacks if a cover crop is not managed properly.  As we quickly approach the time to plant cover crops let’s look at how to gain the benefits of cover crops and avoiding the situation of a cover crop becoming a pest or introducing a pest.