Why a Particular Herbicide Is or Is Not Recommended in Your Area

— Written By Carol Hicks
en Español / em Português
Español

El inglés es el idioma de control de esta página. En la medida en que haya algún conflicto entre la traducción al inglés y la traducción, el inglés prevalece.

Al hacer clic en el enlace de traducción se activa un servicio de traducción gratuito para convertir la página al español. Al igual que con cualquier traducción por Internet, la conversión no es sensible al contexto y puede que no traduzca el texto en su significado original. NC State Extension no garantiza la exactitud del texto traducido. Por favor, tenga en cuenta que algunas aplicaciones y/o servicios pueden no funcionar como se espera cuando se traducen.


Português

Inglês é o idioma de controle desta página. Na medida que haja algum conflito entre o texto original em Inglês e a tradução, o Inglês prevalece.

Ao clicar no link de tradução, um serviço gratuito de tradução será ativado para converter a página para o Português. Como em qualquer tradução pela internet, a conversão não é sensivel ao contexto e pode não ocorrer a tradução para o significado orginal. O serviço de Extensão da Carolina do Norte (NC State Extension) não garante a exatidão do texto traduzido. Por favor, observe que algumas funções ou serviços podem não funcionar como esperado após a tradução.


English

English is the controlling language of this page. To the extent there is any conflict between the English text and the translation, English controls.

Clicking on the translation link activates a free translation service to convert the page to Spanish. As with any Internet translation, the conversion is not context-sensitive and may not translate the text to its original meaning. NC State Extension does not guarantee the accuracy of the translated text. Please note that some applications and/or services may not function as expected when translated.

Collapse ▲

Eric P. Prostko with University of Georgia explains behind-the-scene details about herbicide weed recommendations. Read the article below or visit Southeast Farm Press.

This is the time of year when you likely have a little more time to read up on new products. You might wonder why a particular herbicide is or is not recommended in your area.

Manufacturers spend a lot of money on colorful advertisements proclaiming the virtues of their products. These ads might lead you to believe that you are missing out on something. That’s where university weed scientists like me come into play.

It has been my experience over the last 28 years that growers are always on the lookout for the next Silver Bullet or Holy Grail for weed control. By that, I mean an herbicide or system that is cheap, environmentally friendly, controls lots of weeds, has a low potential for the evolution of resistance and causes minimal crop damage; that’s more like finding a needle in the haystack.

Before any herbicide can be “officially” recommended by a land-grant university, it must undergo extensive field testing. Crop safety, weed control, and carryover are typically our biggest concerns. I will not put any new product in our UGA recommendations unless data has been collected for at least 2-3 years, maybe more.

For example, I currently have data from more than 40 studies on the potential use of Zidua (pyroxasulfone) in peanut with the goal of getting a registration sometime in the very near future. By the time the label is obtained, I should know very well how to advise peanut growers on its best use.

Many of you out there may have farmer-friends in other parts of the country that use herbicides that are not routinely recommended in the Southeast. You have got to remember that areas such as the Mid-West are blessed with higher organic matter soils that contain greater amounts of clay/silt and a much lower percentage of sand. Consequently, growers in that region can use herbicides that might cause unacceptable crop damage in our sandy and lower OM soils.

Another point to consider when evaluating any new herbicide is will it be better than what you are already using? Better meaning improved weed control/crop safety and more desirable crop rotation restrictions. I have been screening herbicides since the late 1980’s and have seen some good ones and some bad ones. The bad ones never make it to the farm gate. Thus, most herbicides on the market today will provide sufficient weed control when used according to the labeled instructions without major differences. However, I will be the first to admit that some herbicides are better than others on particular weed species. For example, Southeastern peanut growers should know by now that bristly starbur/goathead/Texas sandspur is extremely sensitive to Strongarm (diclosulam).

Lastly, many herbicides are initially developed for use in the major field corn, soybean, and wheat growing regions of the U.S. These crops were planted on more than 226 million acres in 2015! Peanuts and cotton are not typically grown in those states so herbicide label rotation restrictions for these specific crops are often very prohibitive due to a lack of knowledge and adequate field testing.

A significant amount of resources (i.e. time, money, and sweat) go into the development of “official” university weed control recommendations. Don’t take the chance on using products that have not been properly tested in your state. If a Holy Grail or Silver Bullet is available for your area, I am sure that you will be made aware of it. But remember, Holy Grails and Silver Bullets have been few and far between in my career.

Written By

Carol Hicks, N.C. Cooperative ExtensionCarol HicksFormer Extension Coordinator Email Carol Center for Integrated Pest Management
NC State Extension, NC State University
Updated on Dec 18, 2015
Was the information on this page helpful? Yes check No close
Scannable QR Code to Access Electronic Version