Weed Pressure due to Spring Weather

The contents of this blog come from an interview conducted with Mark Lubbers of WestBred.

Mark Lubbers Weed Final

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The difference in wheat crops from last year to this year could not only affect the yield numbers, but also the number of weeds farmers will see in the field. I spoke with Mark Lubbers of West Bread about the potential weed pressure for this year.

"Now this year we've had a really tough growing season. Recently some areas have caught some rain, possibly enough rain to salvage some of the wheat crop, but the concern is we have thinner stands, we have fewer plants per acre, and so now we have unshaded areas that are going to give weeds an opportunity to grow up through the maturing wheat crop," Lubbers said.

While weed pressure may not have a huge economic impact, it can still cause problems for the farmer.

"Yeah, really the main thing at harvest time is we're not going to really see any sort of economic damage from weed pressure, because the crop has pretty much already been made. It's really just to aid in that harvesting process. And when you're trying to run green, weedy material through your combine while you're harvesting that wheat crop, it really just it's going to slow farmers down," Lubbers said.

Lubbers suggest keeping an eye on your fields and making sure that you're getting the most out of your herbicide by using the right ones.

"Most importantly, there are pre harvest intervals that are assigned to different herbicides. So just make sure that you're matching up the right chemistry with the right weeds and that you are timing your application according to label instructions. Again, that's Mark Lubbers of West bread," Lubbers said.