Glyphosate resistant pigweed has been confirmed in West Texas, making resistance management programs an essential part of growers’ production strategies.
“We think it’s spreading,” said Luke Etheridge, weed management technical development representative for Monsanto. Etheridge discussed resistance management techniques at a Deltapine field day near Idalou early this fall.
“Until we get new technology, we need to go back to herbicides with multiple modes of action and back to residual herbicides,” Etheridge said. “We need to take the pressure off Roundup, especially in situations where farmers have depended on Roundup for several years.”
He said cultivation may be an option for some growers. “And we may need to run a band of residual herbicide behind the planter.”
The problem could become more serious if farmers don’t take precautions. “We need to treat every acre as if it has resistant weeds,” Etheridge said. Rotation may be a key. “Monoculture cotton increases the opportunity for resistant weeds to spread quickly.”
He said new products “in the pipeline,” including dicamba cotton, will “add another mode of action to the tank,” and give farmers another option to prevent resistant weed infestation.