Weeds

The most recent report on the condition of the Illinois winter wheat crop indicated approximately 10% of the crop was rated poor or very poor, while close to 90% was rated fair to excellent.  It appears likely that much of the wheat crop will remain intact, but in other instances farmers might elect to terminate poorer stands and plant corn or soybean.  If the decision is made to plant corn or soybean into wheat stands where some plants remain alive,…

The 2008 edition of the Illinois Agricultural Pest Management Handbook was the final edition of a publication that served pest management practitioners for many decades. Herbicide information and annual updates of product performance ratings were mainstays of that publication.  Since 2008 we periodically have published herbicide performance ratings, but admittingly not with a great deal of consistency.  Recently, the weed science programs at The Ohio State University and Purdue University extended an invitation to the University of Illinois weed science program to join them in the production of their joint weed control publication. …

Herbicides applied in the fall often can provide improved control of many winter annual weed species compared with similar applications made in the spring.  Marestail is one example of a weed species that is often better controlled with herbicides applied in the fall compared with the spring.  An increasing frequency of marestail populations in Illinois are resistant to glyphosate, and within the past year we have confirmed that resistance to ALS-inhibiting herbicides also is present in Illinois populations. …

Accurate identification of weedy Amaranthus species during early vegetative stages can be difficult.  However, identification of the various species becomes much more reliable when reproductive structures are present (Figure 1).
Before harvest begins, consider taking a few minutes to scout fields; at this time of year it is much easier to differentiate between Palmer amaranth (Figure 2) and waterhemp plants (Figure 3).
Similar to waterhemp, Palmer amaranth plants are either male or female; male plants produce only pollen while female plants produce only seed. …

The weed science program at the University of Illinois would like to take the opportunity to remind everyone of the Palmer amaranth field research tour scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. on July 30.  The tour will feature presentations about Palmer amaranth identification, biology, and management and provide participants the opportunity to view several field experiments conducted by the University of Illinois and scientists from Bayer CropScience.  Advanced registration can be accomplished by visiting bayerrespecttherotation.com. …

Nearly all herbicide labels (soil-applied or postemergence) have rotational crop intervals that specify the amount of time that must elapse between herbicide application and planting a rotational crop.  Adhering to these intervals is always important, but becomes particularly important with late-season herbicide applications or when soil moisture is limited.  These intervals are established to reduce the likelihood that herbicide residues will persist in sufficient quantities to adversely affect the rotational crop.  Some herbicide rotational restrictions are based solely on time,…

The University of Illinois weed science program would like to extend an open invitation to join us on July 30, 2014 for a field tour and discussions at our Palmer amaranth research site, located approximately ½ mile east of the intersection of county roads 14000 west and 3000 north (see Google map following this article) near the community of Union Hill.  The tour will provide an excellent opportunity for farmers, input suppliers, members of the media,…