Prepare for Post Spraying
We all want to maximize profits this year (and every year), which means being adamant in scouting, and spraying to not let anything we can control damage our yields. The first step in any proactive operation is scouting. Whether you hire it out or do it yourself, scouting is critical to gather the most accurate information to help with post spraying. The more information you have, the better the decision you can make.
When scouting to make decisions for post spraying, it is imperative to keep the following in mind:
- Know the growth stage. It is critical to know the stage of the plant for the herbicide to work correctly without injuring the plant.
- Accurately identify present weeds. Correct weed identification is critical to selecting the right herbicides to get a strong kill. Not all herbicides have the same effectiveness on the same weeds. We know this seems pretty basic, but there are some who still believe one pass of Roundup is a cure-all; this is simply not going to work on waterhemp or giant ragweed.
- Know the heights and density of the weeds that are in your field. For instance, the maximum weed height that Cobra says it will kill is four inches tall. If you have two-foot-tall giant ragweed or water hemp that is completely canopied, you are going to have a very hard time killing it. To get a good kill on plants like waterhemp, you need to make contact on all the growing points. For every two inches of additional height the plant grows, the growing points are going to at least double. Under ideal conditions, waterhemp can grow one inch per day. So if you scout today and count 10 growing points on a plant, within two days you could have 20 growing points that you need to contact and kill.
If the weeds get to the point of needing drastic action, unfortunately, your beans are going to get burnt. Let me emphasize, we did not kill your beans. All of the leaves may fall off and they may look dead but they will come back out of it.
Part of maximizing profits is to make the most of every trip made across the field. By following these scouting steps, you can prevent additional trips and charges. For more information, chat with our agronomy team!