Horseweed/Marestail Control In Double-Crop Soybean

Jul 01, 2015

By William Curran

Horseweed or marestail control can be challenging in double crop soybeans. Horseweed plants can be large and/or they have been cutoff with the combine, making them more challenging to control.

Controlling weeds before soybean emergence is a critical management goal for double crop soybeans. Horseweed or marestail control can be challenging in double crop soybeans for several reasons. Horseweed plants can be large and/or they have been cutoff with the combine, making them more challenging to control. Dr. Mark VanGessel from the University of Delaware does not recommend 2,4-D because of off-target movement at this time of year and he does not think it is very effective on large or damaged plants. And of course, the 7-day waiting period following 1 pt is also not attractive in double crop. Sharpen is an option for horseweed control. It must be applied before soybean emergence and is applied at 1 oz/acre. Liberty 280 may be applied at up to 36 fl oz as a burndown treatment prior to soybean emergence. Dr. Mark Loux at Ohio State suggests the following three burndown options:

32-36 fl oz/A Liberty + 1 oz/A Sharpen + MSO + AMS

32-36 fl oz/A Liberty + 4-8 oz/A metribuzin 75DF + AMS

1.5 lb ae/A Glyphosate + 1 oz/A Sharpen + MSO + AMS

One of the best options is to plant LibertyLink soybeans and apply Liberty POST to help control plants that survive the burndown. Also consider products that contain chlorimuron or cloransulam (Canopy, Envive, Valor XLT, Authority First, and Sonic) to help suppress horseweed and provide residual control of other annual broadleaf weeds. However, keep mind that some horseweed in the region is also resistant to the Group 2 or ALS inhibitor herbicides.

Source:psu.edu

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Since blackberries must be harvested by hand, the process is time-consuming and labor-intensive. To support a growing blackberry industry in Arkansas, food science associate professor Renee Threlfall is collaborating with mechanical engineering assistant professor Anthony Gunderman to develop a mechanical harvesting system. Most recently, the team designed a device to measure the force needed to pick a blackberry without damaging it. The data from this device will help inform the next stage of development and move the team closer to the goal of a fully autonomous robotic berry picker. The device was developed by Gunderman, with Yue Chen, a former U of A professor now at Georgia Tech, and Jeremy Collins, then a U of A undergraduate engineering student. To determine the force needed to pick blackberries without damage, the engineers worked with Threlfall and Andrea Myers, then a graduate student.