During the Red River Crops Conference in Altus, Okla. last week, Dr. Todd Baughman of Oklahoma State University’s Plant and Soil Sciences department, presented to cotton farmers on the state’s most problematic weeds currently and what herbicides have worked best to stave them off. Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Associate Farm Director Carson Horn had the chance to speak with Baughman after his presentation to ask a few questions regarding Baughman’s preferred strategy in weed prevention. Listen to their complete conversation by clicking or tapping the LISTEN BAR below at the bottom of the page.
“By far the No. 1 weed we’re dealing with across the state is Palmer’s or pigweed - it goes by a lot of different names. It’s resistant to a lot of our technologies that are out there,” Baughman said. “But Marestail has been a developing problem. Then, especially for western Oklahoma, we’ve been in a very dry climate. That’s an ideal situation for volunteer cotton. We really need some moisture in the next couple of months to help deteriorate that seed.”
Baughman says these unwanted plants can become a significant problem if allowed to grow beyond a certain stage. He recommends treating these plants when they have no more than two or three leaves, with AIM, Gramoxone or Paraquat. Two of the best things a farmer can do, he says, is to use a residual herbicide and to utilize multiple modes of action. This will help to prevent a buildup in weed resistance and allow for continued future use of available herbicide technologies.
If using any popular dicamba-based herbicides this year, such as XtendiMax, FeXapan or Eugenia, Baughman advises farmers to pay close attention to new label requirements for these products. New instructions for these products have been added to these labels this year in response to an ongoing national discussion regarding dicamba use after many farmers filed complaints citing cases of dicamba drift. Part of this, included a change in status for these products making them for restricted use only. Under this classification, farmers intent on using the product must first undergo a mandatory certification training class and maintain extensive records about the product’s purchase and application details.
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