This week in U Del Weekly Crop Update:

• Remove Weeds Before the Seeds Mature
• Livid Amaranth

Remove Weeds Before the Seeds Mature

Many weeds have started to flower in the past week or two. Weeds, depending on the species, will continue to flower from now until frost. I am often asked how soon after flowering are the seeds mature. We have some ongoing trials looking at this issue, but we have a few preliminary results to share.

First and foremost, seeds are mature shortly after flowering. By this I mean that within two weeks of flowering, the seeds on some plants are capable of germinating and contributing to the weed seedbank. So if you are pulling weeds (or mowing them or spraying them) to stop them from producing seeds, you should physically remove the weeds from the field because they may already have mature seeds.
[Read more…]

With small grain harvest underway, there are some questions about preplant weed control with double cropped soybeans. This has always been a challenging situation, and with the presence of herbicide-resistant weeds, it has become even more complicated and results are often less than satisfactory. Larger plants that have been cut off or damaged by the combine are going to be less susceptible to herbicides and achieving 100% control will require a lot of environmental factors falling in your favor — the recent dry spell does not work in your favor. [Read more…]

Interested in farmland leasing? You’re invited to attend a free farmland leasing networking event for landowners and farmers.
The meeting will be hosted July 24, 2014 from 6 PM to 7:30 PM at Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Burlington County Office, 2 Academy Drive, Westhampton NJ 08060. 
To sign up for this farmland leasing networking, contact the SADC at (609) 984-2504 or email Hillary Barile at hillary.barile@ag.state.nj.us.

• Postemergence Management of Glyphosate-Resistant Horseweed in Soybeans
• Palmer Amaranth Control in Soybeans
• Harvest Aids for Small Grain

Postemergence Management of Glyphosate-Resistant Horseweed in Soybeans

Options for controlling horseweed (marestail) resistant to glyphosate after the soybeans have emerged are very limited. Liberty Link soybeans are an exception, because Liberty 280 is fairly effective on horseweed (be sure to keep your rates up and keep spray volume up to ensure good coverage).  [Read more…]

The early-planted corn fields should have been sprayed postemergence for later emerging weeds. In later planted fields, morningglories can be a challenge. Glyphosate is quite effective on small morningglories, but when they start to “run” or develop the vining growth habit, glyphosate is not as effective. If morningglories are an issue for your field, you should consider an additional 1.25 to 1.5 lbs of atrazine with your postemergence sprays in order to provide good residual control. However, this requires that applications be made before the corn is 12 inches tall. [Read more…]

Buggy-whipping in corn is a common sight early in the growing season and later under certain environmental conditions. The cause of buggy whipping is the abnormal formation of waxy leaf layers causing leaves to unfurl improperly. Agrichemicals and environment can cause this. [Read more…]