17 ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER FEBRUARY 2024 basically the same yield results as adding an adjuvant to the Roundup. In another example involving a soybean crop planted after corn, he showed that adding an adjuvant to Select improved volunteer corn control by about 75 per cent and increased yield by an average of eight bushels an acre. Assuming increased gross returns of $109 per acre and a $3 per acre cost of the adjuvant, Sikkema calculated an astonishing 3,624 per cent return on investment. He says that making the choice comes down to knowing each herbicide’s active ingredient and whether or not there’s a benefit to adding an adjuvant to the herbicide. “It’s about finding the optimal adjuvant to add to the herbicide,” he says, emphasizing the importance of growers reading the herbicide label and using the adjuvant on the label. Even then, results may vary based on the water source, environmental conditions, the weed species, and the weed size at application. “On average, across a range of weed species, environmental conditions, and weed sizes at the time of application, the adjuvant that appears on the label will be the best,” he says. On a final note, Sikkema says that a perfectly clean soybean field at harvest doesn’t necessarily mean the best crop/ weed management. He says two 50-acre fields may look exactly the same at harvest. One has undergone the two-pass strategy with nearly no weeds, and the other has had early-season weed interference, causing a three-bushel-per-acre yield loss and a loss of about $45.00 an acre. So, where does the ROI of 344 per cent as a result of good weed management come from? Taking an average yield of 49.5 bushels per acre, selling at $13.59 per This could be the easiest decision you’ve ever made. Visit AgExpert.ca/gearup to learn how. GEAR UP with Farming is full of tough decisions. AgExpert Field & Accounting software is designed to help Canadian farmers make more informed decisions with the help of their data. Sign up for AgExpert and you could win! Grand Prize 2024 Polaris RANGER 1000 EPS Enter Before March 31, 2024 7948_AGEX_2023_ContestQ4_4-687x6-062_Opt-2.indd 1 2023-12-19 1:52 PM This research project received funding from Grain Farmers of Ontario. bushel, losses due to weed interference would amount to $236.60 per acre, while the cost of weed management would be $68.69 per acre.•
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