Weeds are smart. Over time, they develop tolerance to various herbicide modes of action, including glyphosate, ALS, PPO, dicamba and triazine. In fact, many resistant weeds are becoming such a threat to rural areas that they are referred to as noxious weeds, or “super weeds.” Legislators in the Iowa Senate recently approved a bill that would classify Palmer amaranth as a noxious weed as it continues to threaten crops across the state. Minnesota is another state that has added Palmer amaranth on its list of noxious weeds to ensure the state has the proper authority to help eradicate and stop the spread of the weed.
Whether part of our planting plan or not, instituting crop rotation for weed control becomes more necessary each year. Weeds eventually find ways to outsmart herbicide modes of action when the same herbicide, traits and crops are repeatedly used. Not only is crop rotation a good stewardship practice, but it’s also vital to the well-being of our crops. Luckily, we have many options that growers can use in their rotation to help manage resistant weeds, including herbicide-tolerant traits such as LibertyLink® and Agrisure®.
With LibertyLink soybeans, growers can enjoy high-yielding genetics and outstanding crop safety through built-in tolerance to fast-acting Liberty® herbicide. Liberty herbicide controls more than 120 broadleaf weeds and grasses, including ALS- and glyphosate-resistant weeds. And to date, there is no documented weed resistance to Liberty worldwide.
We also carry several options of Agrisure traited corn, many of which include the LibertyLink trait. Agrisure® GT/CB/LL, for example, combines the benefits of Agrisure® GT and Agrisure® CB/LL's trait technologies into a single hybrid. This triple-stack trait has built-in tolerance to both glyphosate and Liberty herbicide.
With a number of corn hybrids and soybean varieties in our lineup, Stine offers growers the freedom to choose their preferred herbicide to help tackle weed resistance one field at a time. To learn more about our corn and soybean lineup or to discuss your crop rotation plans with an agronomist, contact your local Stine regional sales rep.