kochia

Dispelling common misconceptions about herbicide-resistant superweeds

Herbicide resistance is a major problem, but it is not necessarily a result of gene transfer from genetically modified crops

Use of the term “superweed” has exploded in recent years and is frequently featured in news reports about herbicide-resistant weeds choking out crops. While there is no science-based definition for superweed, the term is often used to describe weeds believed to have special capabilities that are helping them outcompete other plants in ways never experienced

Editorial: the ‘wicked problem’ of herbicide-resistant weeds

It's not only a problem of chemistry, but human behaviour itself

When I first tuned into a recent summit on herbicide resistance being broadcast live by webinar from Washington, D.C., my first thought was that I had virtually stumbled into the wrong conference. The keynote speaker wasn’t a weed scientist. He is a sociologist. But as I listened, it became clear this speaker, and the ones


Southwest Manitoba has traditionally been considered part of the semi-arid Palliser Triangle. Today Wade (l) and Ryan Flannery are among the area farmers whose fields are sprouting cattails, not crops.  Photo: Meghan Mast

Southwestern Manitoba — semi-arid to semi-fluid

Dedicated minimum- and zero-till farmers are now dragging out tillage 
equipment that’s been in store for years

When Ryan and Wade Flannery began working on the drilling rigs to supplement grain farming, they did not imagine that several years later they would be working for oil companies year round. “We (initially) went to the drilling rigs for something to do for the winter and now it’s turned into a full-time deal,” said

VIDEO: Glyphosate resistance on Manitoba fields

VIDEO: Glyphosate resistance on Manitoba fields

At least one local farmer has resorted to removing kochia by hand

Glyphosate is arguably the world’s most important herbicide, but glyphosate resistant weeds are on the rise. Two Manitoba fields have glyphosate and group 2 resistant kochia. To delay glyphosate resistance farmers should reduce glyphosate use when possible. That’s the message Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development weed specialist Nasir Shaikh gave farmers Aug. 7 during the Manitoba


New technology, drones and gadgets part of 2014 Crop Diagnostic School

There’s also a one-day Organic Diagnostic Clinic July 18

New field-scouting tools, including drones, will be part of this year’s Crop Diagnostic School at the University of Manitoba’s Ian N. Morrison Research Farm at Carman. The annual event that provides agronomists and farmers with hands-on, in-field learning, runs July 4 to 11 and July 14 to 17. During the mornings, Crop Diagnostic School participants

A soybean plant in the unifoliate stage.

Soybean stages for weed control

It’s important to get an early jump on the weeds before they rob soybeans of their potential yield

Early weed control is essential to protect Roundup Ready soybean yields, says Dennis Lange, a farm production manager with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (MAFRD) in Altona. Glyphosate can be safely applied when soybeans are in the first trifoliate stage right up to flowering. Most farmers split their applications, first hitting weeds when they


weed in a field

Tips for herbicide weed control when it’s cool and wet

When weeds are growing slowly they absorb less herbicide, while stressed crops are more susceptible to injury

Cool, wet weather, especially in southwestern Manitoba, has delayed seeding and now it’s complicating weed control. Muddy soils have delayed, or prevented farmers from doing a pre-plant weed burn-off allowing weeds to get bigger than the optimum stage for herbicide control. Lionel Kaskiw, a farm production adviser with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (MAFRD)

Authority herbicides now registered for soybeans in Western Canada

When tank mixed with glyphosate soybean growers can get 
immediate and residual weed control and delay 
glyphosate-resistant weeds

Authority herbicides are now registered for conventional and Roundup Ready soybeans, giving Manitoba farmers the option for residual weed control and another tool to delay the onset of glyphosate-tolerant weeds, including kochia. Authority (sulfentrazone) can be tank mixed with glyphosate and applied pre-plant surface or pre-emergent surface to control kochia, lamb’s quarters, red root pigweed


Tips for when soybean seeding runs late

Tips for when soybean seeding runs late

Consider boosting your seeding rate to help offset the negative effects of delayed seeding

When seeding soybeans later in the season farmers should consider increasing their seeding rate to bolster yields, a Manitoba Pulse Growers Association production specialist says. Kristen Podolsky said in an interview getting canopy closure by the first week of July is key to getting good soybean yields. “Soybean flowering is triggered by day length. As

Change is constant

The next time you have an hour or two to spare, find your way to the National Centre for Livestock and Environment’s website and download a paper called: Moving Toward Prairie Agriculture 2050. But be forewarned, while reading through it doesn’t leave one with any overriding sense of panic, neither does it leave one feeling