Corn is a great rotational crop from an agronomic standpoint, and has been recommended to assist with control of glyphosate-resistant pigweed.
“We can use a lot of different herbicide options and alternative modes of action in corn that aren’t available in other crops,” says Dr. Tom Barber, University of Arkansas weed scientist. “That can lead to a good, integrated management program for pigweed.”
The bad news, he says, is that the EPA is reconsidering atrazine registration. The open comment period closed in early October.
“We’re concerned that we could lose atrazine as a primary pigweed control option in corn,” Barber says. “If that happens, with all the PPO-resistant pigweed we have scattered around the state, corn will become less an option for rotation. In all of our work with PPO-resistant pigweed in 2016, atrazine was hands down one of our best options from a corn herbicide standpoint.”
Read more of the farmpress news story here.