Propane-fueled flame weeding is used in organic farming and interest in it is increasing among conventional producers due to increased weed resistance to herbicides and the costs of GMO crop seed.
A full-day Flame Weeding Workshop will be held Aug. 19 at the Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center near Mead. University teams led by Stevan Knezevic, professor of agronomy and horticulture, and George Gogos, professor of mechanical and material engineering, will present data from seven years of research that resulted in 20 scientific publications, 100 abstracts and the development of new flaming equipment.
Attendees will learn how to do proper flaming to control over 10 major Midwestern weeds in seven agronomic crops — field corn, sweet corn, popcorn, soybean, sorghum, sunflower and wheat.
The workshop includes presentations and/or demonstrations on:
- propane doses for weed control and crop tolerance data;
- research on winter annual weed control with flaming;
- four-row commercial type flamers with hoods for broadcast and banded flaming (demonstrations); and
- inter-row cultivation and intra-row flaming combined in a single operation.
In addition, several local organic farmers will share about their experiences with flame weeding.
The cost is $100 per registration (includes lunch and one Flame Weeding Manual) and $10 for a spouse/guest’s meal. Please register online by Aug. 5. Directions to the site, accommodation information, a brochure and a video about the university’s flame-weeding research is available at agronomy.unl.edu/flame-weeding-workshop.
Partial scholarships may be available to certified organic farmers from Nebraska. For more information contact: Stevan Knezevic, phone 402-584-3808 or sknezevic2@unl.edu.
