Ohio State University Extension and Purdue have partnered to publish a new fact sheet aimed at helping farmers battle herbicide-resistant marestail and its yield-reducing affects on soybeans.
Marestail, also referred to as horseweed, primarily emerges in late summer into fall and again from late-March through June in both Indiana and Ohio. The weed competes with soybean plants for soil nutrients, space and water. Mature marestail also can hinder soybean harvest, and it doesn't respond to treatment from one of the most commonly used herbicides.
"Most populations of marestail in Ohio and Indiana are resistant to glyphosate, and will not be controlled by burndown or post-emergence applications of glyphosate alone," said Mark Loux, Ohio State Extension weed scientist.
Glyphosate resistance means farmers need to pay extra special attention to herbicide application timing so they can try to control marestail during early growth stages when it's most treatable. It also means soybean growers likely will need to use a cocktail of other herbicides to achieve marestail control.
Loux and Purdue Extension weed scientist Bill Johnson hope to make navigating marestail control a little bit easier with their new fact sheet, "Control of Marestail in No-Till Soybeans," which is available for free download at:
OSU Extension Weed Science - http://agcrops.osu.edu/specialists/weeds
The fact sheet includes information about marestail biology, soybean yield loss, herbicide resistance and steps for controlling and managing the weed.
Source : osu.edu