Fight Weeds All Season Long Using These Tips for a Successful Burndown

Wade Givens, Ph.D.

Apr 08, 2020

Start clean, stay clean is an excellent motto to live by when farming. But how do you translate those words into action as planting season approaches?

You know all too well that the weed management decisions you make just before and at planting are going to have a significant impact on your yield potential come harvest. Weather and pest pressure will continue to influence the health of your crop throughout the season, to be sure, but your biggest window of opportunity for weed control starts to close the moment the planter rolls out of your fields.

A successful burndown sets the stage for year-long weed control

A good foundation for your burndown application includes a non-selective herbicide (glyphosate or glufosinate, for example) as well as an auxin (such as dicamba or 2,4-D). Depending on your location, cropping plan and the weather in your recent forecast, there may be other chemistries that you want to use on your farm as well.

Need more tips for early-season weed management?

Here are a few potential burndown programs for corn, soybeans and cotton worth considering this spring: 

Corn

Start your corn burndown with glyphosate and dicamba or 2,4-D, plus a paraquat product. Some other common additions include atrazine (Corvus®, for example, or Lexar®, which also contains mesotrione and metolachlor). 

Soybeans

A burndown ahead of soybeans often includes a glyphosate or 2,4-D base. You may want to add a saflufenacil product (Sharpen® or Verdict®, for example) as well as metribuzin. Another option could be a glyphosate and 2,4-D combination with the addition of paraquat.  

Cotton

A common burndown for cotton includes glyphosate and paraquat, with Cotoran® or Caparol® coming behind the planter. 

PRO TIP: Running into some nasty marestail/horseweed? You might want to substitute glufosinate for glyphosate in your burndown to get you the best overall control.

When using any ag chemical, always read and follow label instructions. As an FBN member, you can also speak with one of our senior agronomists when exploring chemistries and management strategies for your farm and fields. Simply call (605) 223-4224 to chat with a member of our team.

Take care of your pre-season and in-season management needs with FBN Direct℠

You can double down on savings and convenience when you shop for ag chemicals on FBN Direct. Simply buy the crop protection products you need online and get them shipped directly to your farm—or schedule free pick-up at your local FBN Hub. It’s just one of many different ways we’re making farming better for farmers.

Sharpen® powered by Kixor® and Verdict® powered by Kixor® are registered trademarks of BASF Ag Products. Corvus® is a registered trademarks of Bayer CropScience. Caparol® and Lexar® are registered trademarks of Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC. Cotoran® is a registered trademark of ADAMA.

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Wade Givens, Ph.D.

Apr 08, 2020