May 21, 2010

Postemergence Burndown

Q: Can I use 2,4-D with Roundup prior to corn emergence for burn down weed control?

A: The use of 2,4-D is not advised after 3-5 days following corn planting.

This spring growers may be seeing more weeds in their fields since the excessive and early snow last fall didn't allow for some preemergence treatments. With the wetter spring, growers could expect better control of the hardier weed species that Roundup typically has trouble controlling.

Steve Young
Extension Weed Ecologist, West Central REC, North Platte

Post Storm Damge in Wheat

Q: My wheat received hail damage and high winds have removed many of the flag leaves. What kind of yield loss should I expect at this point and would it be better to replant to corn or soybeans?

A: Every situation will vary. In general, the flag leaf provides most yield for that wheat head. It’s important to assess the remaining leaves to see how damaged and diseased they are. If they’re still in pretty good shape, you may be looking at 30%-60% yield loss with most being in the 40%-50% range. With the low wheat price, it may be difficult to take such a large yield loss when more profit may be made from planting and harvesting another crop.

Before you consider spraying out the wheat and planting something else, it’s important that you know what your crop insurance allows. If the wheat has already headed, you may not be able to spray that wheat out as it would be considered a harvestable crop and crop insurance may want you to take it to yield or leave check strips so they can assess a yield. It’s also important to know your soil moisture status, especially in dryland situations. If you have nearly a full soil moisture profile, you have a better chance of getting a replant crop established than if your soil moisture is fairly depleted.

Jennifer Rees
Extension Educator in Clay County
Bob Klein
Extension Western Nebraska Crops Specialist
West Central REC, North Platte