MORE CROP DIVERSITY NEEDED The second study analyzed the effectiveness of different weed management programs for weeds tolerant to glyphosate and those resistant to multiple herbicide groupings. This includes Canada fleabane and waterhemp. Many herbicide programs were found to be highly effective. A 96 to 99 per cent control average of Canada fleabane in corn was achieved with a pre-plant herbicide application of Callisto plus Acuron, for example. Post-emergence applications of Group 4 herbicides in corn brought 92 to 96 per cent control as well. While the results from these and other chemistry combinations are promising for control of Canada fleabane in Ontario’s staple grain crops, Sikkema says complacency is not an option. “The first glyphosate-resistant Canada fleabane was found in 2010 in Essex County. In six growing seasons, it spread 800 kilometres. In 75 per cent of those counties, it was Group 2 and Group 9 resistant. By around 2015, it was border to border along the main crop-producing regions in Ontario,” says Sikkema. “The potential losses for Ontario farmers are just huge. Our data shows average yield loss in corn was 54 per cent, and 65 per cent in ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER RESEARCH 27 soybeans, based on the severity of pressure from Canada fleabane.” A similar and potentially more threatening story can be told for waterhemp – a weed that has developed populations wielding resistance to five different herbicide groups and which has spread across the province at a speed Sikkema calls “shocking.” “I always want to be respectful. Farmers make decisions for all sorts of reasons. But in general…I feel very strongly we need to introduce more diversity into our crop and weed management programs,” Sikkema says. He adds a good start is maintaining winter wheat in corn-soybean rotations, but a fourth crop – potentially one with a different life cycle – would be much better in keeping fields clean and reducing the speed at which new weed biotypes evolve. “We need to take advantage of different methods of weed control as well. That could be a rotation, a cover crop…then layer on top using a wide array of different herbicides with different modes of action. Instead of looking back retroactively at what’s been applied in the past – look ahead. Make a weed management program based on what you would like to do in years to come.” • Funding for these projects was provided by Grain Farmers of Ontario, BASF, Bayer, Corteva, FMC, Syngenta, and Valent/Nufarm. THERE’S AN EASIER WAY TO MAXIMIZE YOUR FIELD'S POTENTIAL SOYA IP SIMPLIFIÉE 1.888.427.7692 CERESCO.CA SIMPLIFIED IP SOYBEANS OFFERING YOU MORE, YIELDS BETTER RESULTS! Guaranteed Varietal Premium More Delivery Points In Quebec And Ontario Year-Round Agronomic Support Storage Premium Weed Management Program 100% Buyback Program With Ceresco’s Premium Buy Back IP Program and a full team dedicated to help you achieve your goals, we make it easier than ever to get every dollars worth for your fields.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTQzODE4