By Darren Hefty
How’d you like to earn $3 or $4 for every dollar you invest? Sounds pretty good, right? I have just such an opportunity for you if you’re a wheat farmer.
There are actually quite a few things you can do in wheat that give you a fantastic return. One of those things that I believe is not being taken advantage of is the use of pre-emerge herbicides. Seriously, how many years have you used a pre-emerge residual herbicide (one that controls weeds for at least a few weeks after application)?
Don’t feel too bad if your answer was either zero or one. It’s not like there have been great choices for a long time that you have been missing out on. Take this as your “heads up” that the days of a simple Roundup burndown or clean tillage are now officially costing you yield and profit.
The two products I prefer are Pre-Pare and Sharpen, but there are other herbicides you can use, as well. The reasons Pre-Pare and Sharpen are quickly replacing all the other pre-emerge choices is that they are generally much safer on the crop, and both have improved weed control characteristics over most of the older products.
Pre-Pare has the same active ingredient as Everest 2.0 but does not have the crop safener since it should be soil applied. While the normal rate is 0.3 ounces per acre, many farmers opt to use just 0.2 ounces to avoid any potential injury issues with the crop, especially if there is any overlap with the sprayer in high pH soils. At a 2/3 rate, you won’t get perfect control. I wouldn’t expect that at the full rate either, so why spend the money? The exception to that would be in very low pH soils where you need a higher rate to overcome a serious soil problem. By the way, if my soil pH ever dips below 6.3, I would apply lime to bring the pH up (and increase nutrient availability, crop growth, yield, etc.).
Sharpen is a fantastic burndown product you can mix with Roundup. Plus, at the two ounces most wheat farmers are using, Sharpen has a decent amount of soil residual to keep especially the small seeded broadleaves from popping back up in your fields. While Pre-Pare can be applied early post-emerge, Sharpen cannot, so just make sure you get your Sharpen on before the wheat comes up.
There is also a product on the horizon that may become an important pre-emerge tool for your farm. BASF will soon be releasing Zidua in corn and soybeans. It will have grass and small seeded broadleaf control plus residual. We expect Zidua to get a pre-emerge wheat label within the next few years.
For 2012, consider using a pre-emerge herbicide before you plant your wheat. Odds are you’ll see a strong return on your investment and a noticeably cleaner field.