Herbicide Resistance

Herbicide resistance could drop your land value Herbicide resistance is worsening and some observers predict that how the problem is managed will affect the rental value and the purchase price of farmland in future years. It’s estimated that 90 per cent of the kochia population in Western Canada is resistant to Group 2 herbicides. Group 2 resistance is also showing up in wild mustard. Plus, an increasing number of wild oat populations are showing resistance to Group 1 herbicides, which have until now provided relatively cheap and effective control. The advice for controlling resistance is to use products with multiple modes of action and to alternate herbicide groups from one year to the next. Increasingly, producers need to keep records of what was applied on each field each year. Prevention is the key because once you have herbicide resistance you may not get rid of it in your farming lifetime. Wild oat and wild mustard seeds can sit dormant in the ground for many years. Already, there are producers with resistance problems who have no way to control certain weeds in certain crops. In other crops, keeping ahead of the weeds is now considerably more expensive. As resistance problems worsen, it’s easy to imagine land with problems being discounted by renters and buyers. I’m Kevin Hursh.

For more information about herbicide resistance and advice on weed control call a DynAgra Agronomist at 1-800-941-4811.