Herbicide questions remain

Dicamba weed fighting technology may be good, but an extension weed scientist from the University of Illinois has yet to see information which says these soybean varieties need to be planted on every acre in Illinois.

Dr. Aaron Hager told farmers attending the recent All Day Ag Outlook Meeting in Covington, Indiana that biology will run the show and it all comes down to what nature allows growers to do. He pointed to the resistance of Roundup herbicide technology as an example.

Hager suggests selecting a residual herbicide to target water hemp while not “skimping” on rates. He believes dicamba can be effective at pre-emergence, since it is available to the soil even in dry conditions.

Central Illinois saw many instances of cupped soybean fields last summer but Hager says there is no way to know what the exposure to dicamba was just by looking at the plants. Dicamba exposure can impact soybean yield if it occurs during reproductive development, according to Hager.

“We have seen cupped soybeans in Illinois for 50 years. This is nothing new,” Hager noted.

Hager reminds farmers that soybeans are among the most sensitive plants to dicamba exposure.

“They always have been and always will be.”