Pigweed: plows and covers
Oct 29, 2009 11:12 AM, By Forrest Laws, Farm Press Editorial Staff
Many growers are finding a hoe has been indispensable in preventing glyphosate- or ALS-resistant pigweed from spreading. Now weed scientists in Georgia are saying farmers may want to consider a turning plow next.
As reports of herbicide-resistant Palmer amaranth continue to spread throughout the Southeast, farmers are turning to hand labor to try to keep the pesky weed at bay. Are moldboard plows or heavy cover crops next?
Many growers who swore they would never take up the hoe again are finding the tool has been indispensable in preventing glyphosate- or ALS-resistant pigweed from spreading even further. Now weed scientists in Georgia, where the problem began, are saying farmers may want to consider a turning plow next.
Stanley Culpepper, the University of Georgia weed specialist who has become a widely recognized authority on resistant pigweed, says hand-hoeing has definitely helped make a difference in his state.
“For the first time in five years, I’m very optimistic,” said Culpepper, who was interviewed at this year’s Sunbelt Expo in Moultrie, Ga. “Overall, I think we had a very good year. Our growers have been super aggressive. We’ve even had a significant amount of hand-weeding to make sure that Palmer amaranth doesn’t go to seed — to help us out next year.”
Culpepper, a speaker at one of the new technology updates held during this year’s Sunbelt, said it’s not that growers weren’t challenged by Mother Nature in 2009. Still, growers have been able to cope, although many were still harvesting cotton and peanut during the Expo (Oct. 20-22).
“Overall our growers have adopted good programs. They’re using residual herbicides at planting. They’re doing better with their postemergence timeliness, and we’re using residual herbicides throughout the crop. So, I think we’ve had a positive year.”
Growers are beginning to turn to cover crops and deep tillage because of the severity of the problem. One female Palmer amaranth plant can produce 500,000 seed, and one of two resistant plants can turn a field into a disaster with two or three growing seasons.
