By Dwight Lingenfelter, Extension Associate, Weed Science

With the unique weather over the past few weeks, spraying burndown herbicides has been challenging for farmers across the entire state. In some areas, the burndown process started a few weeks ago but then never got finished for various reasons; in other areas burndown is just starting. In either situation, weeds continue to emerge and grow, and tend to become more difficult to control, especially as they get larger and begin to flower. Instead of writing another article on the topic, I thought it would be best to remind people about a few articles I have written within the past weeks on this matter. Below are some articles to review for improving burndown performance.

Early Preplant (EPP) Herbicide Applications...How Early Can They be Sprayed (April 2): As the days warm and time gets closer to planting, certain residual herbicides can be applied prior to planting but timing is critical. See this article for more details.

Spring Burndown Tidbits (April 9): Environmental conditions and weed size can greatly impact burndown herbicide effectiveness. This article provides some tidbits to consider when applying burndown herbicides this spring.

Burndown herbicide suggestions for corn (April 16): There are various herbicide options for burndown in no-till corn. Refer to this article for some products to consider and comments on best-use practices about each.

Burndown herbicides, sensitive surroundings, and DriftWatch (April 16): If you plan to spray burndown herbicides close to vineyards or other sensitive areas, please read this article for additional details and consider using DriftWatch.