Weeds

A new corn herbicide from Corteva Agrisience will give farmers a powerful, flexible solution to help them control weeds with three modes of action.

The team at the Southwest Purdue Agriculture Center is tackling invasive species while increasing pollinator habitats.

Here in central Illinois, this spring has delivered its share of surprises. The planting season got off to a good start in April with warm and dry weather with a lot of corn and soybean being planted.

Ron and Jay Kindred were setting the population on their four-row planter to prepare for replanting some corn upon arrival late Wednesday morning, May 26. “We’ll be replanting some corn when the ponds dry up after this next rain goes through. All of the corn is up enough that we can see where we need to plant-in,” Ron said.

The recipe for aquatic weeds is a mixture of warm water, sunlight and nutrients. In order to disrupt weeds, one of those ingredients must be disrupted. But first, it’s a good idea to remember that some weeds are good, said Jonathan Ferris, Purdue Extension educator in Wayne County, during a webinar.

If you want to focus on managing ponds on your property this year, the first step is to decide what your goal is.

The growing season seems to be accelerating with crops benefitting from warmer temperatures than experienced in early May. That same growth spurt is true of weeds. While we all hope for a weed-free field, remember that performance of herbicides is affected by weather conditions and several additional factors.

Controlling weeds in turf is all about having a plan. Justin Curley, agriculture and natural resources educator in Jay County, shared tips to manage turf grass during a webinar hosted by Purdue Extension.

A tank mix of Enlist One and Liberty herbicides is the most powerful post-emergence treatment to control weeds like Palmer amaranth and waterhemp, according to Corteva Agriscience. No single herbicide will control tough weeds. It takes multiple sites of action and timely herbicide applications to keep weeds at bay.

A farmer in west-central Indiana planted Asgrow XtendFlex soybeans for the first time April 6. Cory Peabody has experienced weed challenges on his farm, including lambsquarter, marestail, giant ragweed and waterhemp. The new soybean traits are triple-stacked, helping tackle weed challenges on his farm.