7 Ways U.S. Farmers Can Delay Herbicide Weed Resistance

Weeds are a threat to every farming operation and the number of herbicide resistant weeds continues to grow every year. Creating a strategy to delay the development of resistant weeds is important and should be prioritized on every farm. 

As of April 2022, the U.S. has 127 unique herbicide resistant weeds and Canada has 52. (1)

There are a number of ways a grower can take a proactive approach to ensure a weed resistance management strategy is implemented on every acre.

Let’s get into the weeds with 7 ways to delay the development of herbicide resistant weeds:

1. Use herbicide group numbers to create effective weed selection pressure

Each herbicide group number corresponds to a site of action of an active ingredient. When multiple herbicide groups are applied to control a targeted weed, the weed is less likely to escape a spraying, as it must tolerate many different disruptions to its functioning. (2)

A general example of this would be a known weed in your area which is resistant to both glyphosate (Group 9) and ALS inhibitor active ingredients (Group 2). Create effective weed selection pressure by applying herbicides from other herbicide groups such as GCS Metola Plus 8EC (Group 15) and Willowood Sulfen 4SC (Group 14) Download the chart from the United Soybean Board here.

2. Know your adjuvant requirements

Proper adjuvants increase the efficacy of your burndown and preemergence herbicides. Consult your label to see which adjuvants are required, recommended or may be used.

Whether you need a surfactant, a crop oil or a drift inhibitor, take the time to familiarize yourself with the products that can help you get the most out of your herbicide shot, and limit unintended impacts. FBN® offers a robust line of Farmers First™ branded adjuvants for all your herbicide, insecticide and fungicide applications. Download the Farmers First Adjuvant Product Guide here.

3. Include tillage as a weed management tool

Utilizing tillage as part of an integrated weed management program with herbicide applications can help reduce seed banks by controlling emerged weeds and burying non-germinated seed. (3) 

4. Change planting and fertilizer strategies to enhance the crop canopy

Experiment with narrower rows and banding fertilizer to hasten the growth of a crop canopy to shade out competitive weeds.

5. Avoid spreading weed seeds by cleaning equipment before leaving each field

Plus, the work that you do to control troublesome weeds in the fence rows adjacent to your fields will also reduce the spread of weeds.

6. Break weed cycles

Prevent certain weeds from becoming dominant with crop rotations. This would include row crops, small grains, and cover crops.

7. Herbicide rotation

There are many herbicides that are labeled to control the same weed species. Using the same herbicide year after year may initiate resistance, decreasing your ability to control the weeds. Herbicide diversity plays an important role in fighting resistance.

Shop for herbicides 

Find the products you need at FBN Direct®. We have a diverse product portfolio to provide product options for growers like you to develop an integrated weed management strategy.

Top Preemergence Herbicides at FBN®

Sources:

• https://www.weedscience.org/Pages/GeoChart.aspx

• https://crops.extension.iastate.edu/encyclopedia/effectiveness-using-multiple-sites-action-manage-resistance

• https://hracglobal.com/prevention-management/best-management-practices

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