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Upper Midwest growers see changing weed spectrum

Farmers in the Upper Midwest are seeing a changing weed spectrum.

Steve Snyder with Corteva Agriscience says growers in the Dakotas and Western Minnesota are starting to deal with more than velvet leaf, lambsquarters, and waterhemp.

“Now they’re starting to get kochia. Get a little more west towards the Missouri River and central and east-central Dakotas, they always fought kochia, but now they’re starting to get waterhemp. So if they’ve been using some of the same programs they have in the past it’s a challenge when you have those two weeds in particular because they emerge at such different times.”

He tells Brownfield kochia emerges early in the growing season, while waterhemp typically shows up around the middle of June.

“One of the things we’ve really been doing a lot of the last two falls, and right now is a perfect time of year, is we’re doing a lot of fall (herbicide) applications and it’ll be pretty much full strength in the spring to get that early kochia.”

Snyder says while that herbicide program won’t cover the whole season, it takes care of kochia so growers can focus on regular weeds like waterhemp.