To be creative, that seems to be the way out of weed issues.

A recent worskshop from REM (Aapresid) intended to enlighten alternatives onto troublesome weeds.  

Martín Marzetti, REM’s CEO said that “beyond the existing solutions, we always invite farmers and researchers to create their own strategies, to be creative”. Then he added: “we need to find new stuff and every workshop should inspire that”.

Above economic and politic issues, wheat as well as all Winter crops are giving a fight.  Crop rotation and weeds control are the main reasons why we should look after wheat.  

“Wheat season seems to be complicated each time equation doesn´t fit some years up to now”, quotes Juliana Albertengo, a San Jorge´s (Córdoba) farmer and a FAO’s consultant.   Her double condition helps her to understand the big picture: “agronomically speaking, including wheat in our strategy is very important since we are adding grasses to rotation and this way, helping to control weeds”.  

Think twice before making any decision. Sustainability is much more tan great yields. Just taking it in all their aspects: ambient, economic, and social comes in all its sense.

A report from USDA explores a number of issues related to the decline of glyphosate’s effectiveness and choices for managing resistance to it.

What is the issue? Glyphosate has been the most widely used herbicide in the United States since 2001. It effectively controls many weed species, and generally costs less than the herbicides that it replaced. Because several major crop varieties have been genetically engineered to tolerate glyphosate, crop growers can spray entire fields planted to glyphosate-tolerant (GT) varieties, killing the weeds but not the crops. This practice makes it easier to manage weeds using less tillage, which can help reduce soil erosion and improve soil quality and water conservation. However, glyphosate’s effectiveness is declining as weed resistance mounts—14 glyphosate-resistant (GR) weed species currently affect U.S. crop-production areas. GR weeds can reduce crop yields and increase weed-control costs, and recent surveys suggest that the amount of affected cropland is increasing. This study addresses several issues raised by the spread of GR weeds and the effect on U.S. agriculture.

What Did the Study Find? Reliance on glyphosate, by many growers, as the sole herbicide to control weeds is the primary factor underlying the evolution of GR weeds. Using glyphosate in isolation can select for glyphosate resistance by controlling susceptible weeds while allowing more resistant weeds to survive, which can then propagate and spread. Using herbicides with different modes of action, which affect susceptible weeds differently, and rotating their use over time can result in fewer herbicide-resistant weeds.

Para leer el informe completo del USDA, clic aquí.

Para leer el informe completo de ADAMA/FAUBA, clic aquí. 

The real question should be how do we stop superweeds from developing resistance to any more herbicides.

When the non-farm press call for an interview it is always interesting.

The first thing they typically want to discuss is “superweeds.” There is a definition of superweeds in the Oxford online Dictionary which states that a “superweed is a weed which is extremely resistant to herbicides, especially one created by the transfer of genes from genetically modified crops into wild plants.”

In other words, glyphosate created superweeds. This totally misleading and factually wrong definition is typically what many non-farm press think a superweed is. The truth is that glyphosate did not create superweeds, but rather superweeds defeated glyphosate.

The real question should be how do we stop, or more realistically delay, superweeds from developing resistance to any more herbicides?

Source: Delta Farm Press

It´s presence in some fields in La Pampa’s province calls our attention. Which are the main solutions in this weed management.

His presence has been confirmed in some fields between Speluzzi and Vértiz and other spots from La Pampa. 

The INTA Anguil, Government of La Pampa, and the Agronomist University of La Pampa, started the alarm.

Listening to that awful sound, Maleza cero comes with a list of recommendations, and statements.

With Amaranthus Palmeri, start clean and keep clean.

In which ways does this practice diminishes weed presence in the field? Martín Marzetti, CEO of REM Aapresid explained it clearly during last Weeds National Meeting.

The message was clear. During last Weeds National Meeting, in Oliveros (Santa Fe), Martín Marzetti focused his words towards more intense y diverse crop rotation per year.

“If we consider that a core zone rotation is soya/soya or soya/corn at most, we’ll be wasting many of the resources the environment gives us, and leaving so much free space for weeds.

On the other hand, crop rotation diversity allows us to change modes of action and delay resistances”.

Soil-residual herbicides are important components of integrated weed management programs.

According to University of Illinois associate professor of weed science, Aaron Hager, soil- residual herbicides “can allow the crop to become established without weed interference and reduce the intensity of selection for weed biotypes resistant to particular foliar-applied herbicides”.

But simply applying a soil-residual herbicide to a field does not guarantee that the product will provide the desired level or duration of weed control. “Many edaphic and environmental factors influence the level of weed control achieved by any particular soil-residual herbicide,” said Hager, “and, depending on the herbicide, some factors can be even more important than others.”

Source: Susan Jongeneel, University of Illinois, Farm Press.

The easiest way to control weeds, is to keep them from getting started in the first place.

“Prevention is the cheapest form of weed control,” says Todd Baughman, Oklahoma State University Extension agronomist, who discussed weed control issues at the Oklahoma Peanut Expo in Lone Wolf, Okla.

“Start clean,” Baughman says. “Otherwise you will continue to deal with weed problems all season”.

The recipe for weed control failure includes not starting clean, not using a residual herbicide and applying a post-emergence herbicide too late. “We have options,” he said,” and those options depend on specific field situations.”

Source: Ron Smith, Farm Press.

Weed control strategies combine old and new technology.

The message is rather simple: start clean, stay clean; use different modes of action; provide overlapping layers of residual herbicides throughout the season; zero tolerance is the goal; you can’t afford to cut back on weed control.

Resistance is nothing new; it’s been around for decades. So an integrated pest management approach will be necessary. That includes layering products from early-season burndown, to preplant applications, pre-emerge treatments, postemergence control and late-season removal—by whatever means necessary—to eliminate escapes. The program may require cultivation or hand labor to remove persistent weeds.

Source: Farm Industry News

This weed keeps threatening winter crops and that´s the reason why we should be prepared.

Strategies were debated towards management of “Conyza bonariensis”, on occasion of the experts´ seminar organized by ADAMA, in Rosario (Argentina).

“Rama negra (Conyza bonariensis (l.) cronq.)” is a problem  belonging to land lies fallow that affects summer crops, annual winter crops and it’s particularly present in grasses, soya, in no- tillage strategies.

The last years, this specie has presented itself as an important weed in Pampa´s region, showing difficulties in control, with actual technology , that´s how it is an issue in every agri-debate.

“Rama negra it´s not a dosis matter but a management problem”, the experts concluded after a large exchange.