Pesticide spray drift is the aerial movement and unintentional deposit of pesticide outside the target area. Spray drift has many negative impacts, including: less product being deposited on the target, resulting in reduced efficacy financial loss associated with wasted pesticide and time the risk of damage to human health, susceptible plants (e.g. adjacent crops), non-target organisms (e.g. wild and domestic…
When fall management fails to eliminate a red clover cover crop what are the options to manage it ahead of soybeans? Ideally one should plant the field to corn and take advantage of red clover’s nitrogen credit (The Ontario corn nitrogen calculator credits it for as much as 73 lbs N/ac). Planting corn also provides more herbicide options (Banvel II, Marksman,…
If you grow soybeans and have had all or either of Canada fleabane, common ragweed and giant ragweed growing in your fields, the use of pre-plant herbicide tank-mixes will be your best chance at achieving good control of these weeds. Management options for these three weeds are either limited or do not provide acceptable control once the soybean crop has…
by Joel Bagg, Forage Specialist, Jack Kyle, Pasture Specialist, & Melanie Beech, OMAF and MRA Controlling weeds in horse pasture can be challenging. Weeds grow well in poor, overgrazed horse pastures, so good pasture management (sacrifice paddocks, rotation, mowing, fertility, drainage, etc) goes a long way in controlling weeds. Overgrazing thins the grass stand and allows weeds to establish. When…
Wild parsnip is a common weed in eastern Ontario, and is spreading in many other parts of the province. It is a biennial, or short-lived perennial (Figure 1). While wild parsnip does not have the notoriety of giant hogweed, its sap does contain some of the same chemicals (furanocoumarins). When these compounds come in contact with the skin, they cause…
The following 10 herbicide injury related scenarios where showcased at the 2013 South West Diagnostic Days held at the University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus. These scenarios are either duplications of common mishaps that have occured in Ontario or a “look and see” based on farmer or agronomist query. It is important to point out that some of the scenarios shown…
With three consecutive days of morning frost in many parts of the province, the two most common questions are 1) Will the corn be alright? and 2) When can I start to apply herbicides? Question 1 is answered nicely by Greg Stewart in this story (the abbreviated version is that things will be fine but if you are nervous person like…
co-authors: Dr. Clarence Swanton and Dr. Francois Tardif You may be faced with a scenario where there is an abundance of weeds at or near the maximum leaf-stage for effective control, yet the soybean crop is not at the growth stage specified on the product label. As a producer or consultant, do you focus on targeting the weeds when at…
With an increase in the number of confirmed populations of glyphosate resistant Canada fleabane in Ontario, many are looking for ways to control these populations and to eliminate any seed production. Management options in soybeans have been discussed in an earlier post, but with weed control in cereal crops imminent it is worth reviewing the most recent public data. The…
Below is a summary of all weed samples sent into the University of Guelph by producers and agronomists that suspected resistance to a particular herbicide during the 2012 season. Also included are herbicide options with different modes of action that are effective on each species. The latest summary of glyphosate resistant Canada fleabane and Giant ragweed populations is also listed….
How do you control chickweed in alfalfa? It is a question asked annually. If you don’t know what chickweed is search it on google images. Of course there is always www.weedinfo.ca. There are three main points on chickweed infesting an alfalfa crop that I have learned over the years. Any herbicide that is effective at controlling chickweed will either significantly damage the…
It seems to be an annual question. Do I add ammonium sulfate (AMS) to glyphosate? Will it improve weed control especially if my water source is hard? The short answer is no. Skeptical? I understand. There are many areas within the United States that insist the addition of ammonium sulfate (AMS) to glyphosate is critical, particularly for the control of…
A beautiful stand of red clover can provide as much as 75 kg of nitrogen per hectare (when at 40 cm tall) for next years corn crop. However, if the clover crop is not “killed off” in the fall, then preparing a suitable seedbed to plant next years crop in is often significantly delayed resulting in reduced yields. A review…
co-written by Horst Bohner When poor herbicide performance or late seed germination results in unacceptable amounts of weeds in a soybean crop, a pre-harvest herbicide treatment will aid in a quicker, more efficient harvest. Drier plant matter will pass more easily through the combine and will result in lower seed losses and reduced seed staining. Appropriate product selection for the…
Below are examples of corn and soybean injury demonstrated at the FarmSmart field expo, July 12, Elora Research Station (University of Guelph) Scenario 1: Just this past spring, I had contact with a producer who had accidentally applied Guardian Plus (glyphosate + chlorimuron + flumioxazin) post emergent to his glyphosate tolerant soybeans. This mistake is understandable as Guardian (glyphosate +…
