To control yield-robbing weeds, experts recommend a multi-pronged strategy, starting with a clean, weed-free field and keeping weeds at bay with timely applications of preemergence and postemergence herbicides. These herbicides should feature multiple modes of action — generally, the more the better.
With the Enlist weed control system, cotton farmers can adopt a program approach to weed control. The Enlist system features Enlist Duo herbicide, a combination of new 2,4-D choline and glyphosate. Growers who plant PhytoGen cottonseed with the Enlist trait can also apply glufosinate postemergence, providing more flexibility to broaden their weed control options.
Seen and unseen costs
Weed pressure costs cotton growers across the South by limiting yield.
“It’s difficult to appreciate the total cost of weed pressure,” says Dr. Alan York, professor of crop science at North Carolina State University.
“We know how much herbicide costs and how much application costs,” York says. “We have programs that can estimate the weed-related yield loss we see at harvest. However, we can’t measure the future costs of allowing the weed seedbank to grow. Those weeds will require control — or will limit yield — in the coming years.”
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