Manage Horseweed/Marestail Before You Plant Soybeans

 

Be sure you are scouting for marestail before you plant your no-till soybeans and using effective herbicides with both burndown and residual control.

 

Before you plant soybeans is the time to consider horseweed/marestail management. This weed is mostly a problem in no-till and more of a problem in soybean than corn. It is also a common site along the margins of some fields where herbicide programs are usually more hit or miss.

 

Much of the horseweed in the region is glyphosate resistant and pockets of Group 2 or ALS-inhibitor resistant biotypes also exist.  The use of residual herbicides to control escapes is becoming more common where 6 to 8 weeks of residual control may be necessary to manage spring emerging horseweed.  Be sure you are scouting your no-till soybean fields this spring and early summer and selecting appropriate control measures.  Rescue options after soybeans emerge are fewer and require upfront preparation using either Liberty Link or Xtend soybean varieties.

 

Here are the general guidelines that we continue to recommend for horseweed/maretail management in our area: