Time to think about fall weed control

Oct 07, 2022

With harvest activities starting to wrap up in some areas, farmers are looking at their fall weed control.

Weed Control Specialist Clark Brenzil says weeds need to be actively growing in order to get the best result.

Fall weed control or suppression is helpful to prevent the plants from flowering and setting seed prior to the crop coming up in the spring.

For perennial weeds you're looking at trying to control things like Canada thistle, dandelion, quackgrass and potentially foxtail barley in the fall.

Brenzil says for Canada thistle the ideal time for control is with a pre-harvest treatment of glyphosate.

"That's because you're looking at about a litre or about 360 grams of active ingredient per acre for that application. Whereas, if you go to a post-emergent application, you have to pretty much triple that rate in order to get the same amount in the plant, just because you've got proportionately less leaf area on that plant."

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Video: Winter Canola Trial in Mississippi | Can It Work for Double Cropping? | Pioneer Agronomy

Can winter canola open new opportunities for growers in the Mid-South? In this agronomy update from Noxubee County, Mississippi, Pioneer agronomist Gus Eifling shares an early look at a first-year winter canola trial and what farmers are learning from the field.

Planted in late October on 30-inch rows, the crop is now entering the bloom stage and progressing quickly. In this video, we walk through current field conditions, fertility management, and how timing could make this crop a valuable option for double-cropping soybeans or cotton.

If harvest timing lines up with early May, growers may be able to transition directly into another crop during ideal planting windows. Ongoing field trials will help determine whether canola could become a viable rotational option for the region.

Watch for:

How winter canola is performing in its first season in this Mississippi field

Why growers chose 30-inch rows for this trial

What the crop looks like as it moves from bolting into bloom

Fertility strategy, including nitrogen and sulfur applications

How canola harvest timing could enable double-cropping with soybeans or cotton

Upcoming trials comparing soybeans after canola vs. traditional planting

As more growers look for ways to maximize acres and diversify rotations, experiments like this help determine what new crops might fit into existing systems.