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Late season weed control

Farmers seeing weeds in crop fields this late in the growing season may have to resort to pulling them by hand to remove them.  Purdue Extension weed scientist Travis Legleiter says the majority of weeds in corn and soybean fields right now are much higher than the ideal 4-8 inch height.  “Our herbicide applications are going to be pretty marginal,” he says.  “We just don’t have products that are going to be able to kill a weed that is that big.

The most common uncontrolled weeds this time in the season is Palmer amaranth, common waterhemp, giant ragweed, and marestail.

Legleiter tells Brownfield there are some risks if farmers continue to apply herbicide this late in the season.  “We have a segregating population,” he says.  “All we’re really doing is selecting out those individual weeds that are the most resistant and they are going to be the ones that continue to reproduce and build a resistant weed population.”

At this point – Legleiter still says hand-pulling weeds may be the most effective way to control weeds.

AUDIO: Travis Legleiter, Purdue (2:00mp3)

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