For too long, cotton farmers in Texas have felt the frustration of trying to manage resistant careless weed, waterhemp, marestail and giant ragweed. This season offered them the chance to put a new herbicide-tolerant trait system to work, and many are encouraged by the weed control they have seen.

“The Roundup Ready^® Xtend Crop System is well worth the investment,” said third-generation farmer Mark Wleczyk from the Upper Gulf Coast region, after seeing early-season weed control results. “It gives me peace of mind knowing I don’t have weeds growing in those fields after the dicamba application.”

Mark Wleczyk (left) and his Monsanto rep, Scott Taylor, check cotton near his shop in Rosenberg, Texas.

Wleczyk farms in a cotton-grain sorghum rotation near Rosenberg, Texas. He planted the majority of his 2017 cotton acres to DP 1646 B2XF due to yield and fiber quality performance data he saw from the 2016 crop season. His weed control program began in the fall, after grain sorghum stalks were shredded. He made an early burndown application of Roundup PowerMAX® herbicide and 2,4-D, and ran a disc bedder over the fields, which then sat fallow over the winter.

In the last week of January, Wleczyk made a burndown application of 22 ounces of Roundup PowerMAX and 2 ounces of Panther^® herbicide (flumioxazin). During March 5-10, he applied Gramoxone^® SL 2.0 herbicide at 40 ounces to 12 gallons of water to the fields he would plant to cotton. Rain kept him grounded for periods of time during March and early April, which allowed weeds to re-emerge in some fields. A second Gramoxone SL 2.0 application was made to those fields prior to planting.

On March 25, Wleczyk began planting cotton and, due to multiple rainouts, planted his last 300 acres on April 25, which had experienced weed escapes. Behind the planter, he made a pre-emerge application of 3 pints of Warrant® Herbicide and 1.1 ounces of Staple® LX herbicide, using a Spra-Coupe® 4000 series sprayer. Wleczyk said the pre-emerge application cleaned up the fields nicely.

Around May 5, Wleczyk made his first post-emergence application of 22 ounces of XtendiMax^® herbicide with VaporGrip^® Technology and 32 ounces of Roundup PowerMAX herbicide with the Spra-Coupe rig outfitted with TeeJet^® TTI nozzles recommended for use in the Roundup Ready Xtend Crop System. Following application requirements, Wleczyk communicated with his neighbors and stopped spraying on some days due to the wind gusts.

“We sprayed from 7 a.m. until noon because after lunch, the wind was too strong to be spraying,” he said. “We were spraying around grain and soybean fields, so we had to be careful. I saw no drift issue in the beans or on the tree lines next to the fields.”

Wleczyk also saw his fields were clean after the in-crop application of XtendiMax with VaporGrip Technology and Roundup PowerMAX.

“What I’ve noticed about dicamba is that spray coverage on the weed is not as critical to getting a kill as it seems to be with glufosinate herbicide,” said Wleczyk, adding, “From what I’ve seen this year, we might put dicamba down as a pre-emerge next season.”

Mark Wendt, who farms near near Needville, Texas, said he was impressed 30 days after an application of XtendiMax with VaporGrip Technology on 8- to 9-leaf cotton. The majority of Wendt’s cotton acres were planted to Bollgard II^® XtendFlex^® cotton, but he also planted LibertyLink^® cotton in a couple of fields surrounded by a neighbor’s dicamba-susceptible crops. He said one shot of dicamba gave him much better control than two shots of glufosinate.

Mark Wendt poses in front of his clean field of DP 1646 B2XF.

Wendt farms in a cotton-corn rotation. Resistant pigweeds—both waterhemp and the Palmer amaranth species—are the most troublesome weeds to control in his fields. This season, he planted DP 1553 B2XF, DP 1646 B2XF and DP 1538 B2XF. For residual control, he applied Dual II Magnum^® herbicide behind the planter. Rain created stop-and-go situations at planting time, so by the time Wendt’s cotton got to the 8-9 leaf stage, weeds were emerging in his fields. He then made an application of 32 ounces of Roundup PowerMAX and 22 ounces of XtendiMax with VaporGrip Technology.

“The fields I sprayed with XtendiMax with VaporGrip Technology are very clean, and I’m very pleased,” said Wendt. “I didn’t see any crop response to the dicamba application, and the weed kill was good. It’s the best system for controlling resistant weeds that I’ve experienced. There is a long window for application, and XtendiMax with VaporGrip Technology appears to be a good product.”

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ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW DIRECTIONS FOR USE ON PESTICIDE LABELING.  IT IS A VIOLATION OF FEDERAL AND STATE LAW to use any pesticide product other than in accordance with its labeling. NOT ALL formulations of dicamba or glyphosate are approved for in-crop use with Bollgard II^® XtendFlex^® cotton. ONLY USE FORMULATIONS THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY LABELED FOR SUCH USES AND APPROVED FOR SUCH USE IN THE STATE OF APPLICATION.  May not be approved in all states. Contact the U.S. EPA and your state pesticide regulatory agency with any questions about the approval status of dicamba herbicide products for in-crop use with Bollgard II^® XtendFlex^® cotton.

Bollgard II^® XtendFlex^® cotton contains genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate, dicamba and glufosinate. Glyphosate will kill crops that are not tolerant to glyphosate. Dicamba will kill crops that are not tolerant to dicamba. Glufosinate will kill crops that are not tolerant to glufosinate. Contact your Monsanto dealer or refer to Monsanto’s Technology Use Guide for recommended weed control programs.

Monsanto Company is a member of Excellence Through Stewardship^® (ETS). Monsanto products are commercialized in accordance with ETS Product Launch Stewardship Guidance, and in compliance with Monsanto’s Policy for Commercialization of Biotechnology-Derived Plant Products in Commodity Crops. Only commercialized products have been approved for import into key export markets with functioning regulatory systems. Any crop or material produced from this product can only be exported to, or used, processed or sold in countries where all necessary regulatory approvals have been granted. It is a violation of national and international law to move material containing biotech traits across boundaries into nations where import is not permitted. Growers should talk to their grain handler or product purchaser to confirm their buying position for this product.

B.t. products may not yet be registered in all states. Check with your Monsanto representative for the registration status in your state.

Roundup Technology^® includes Monsanto's glyphosate-based herbicide technologies. ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Warrant^® Herbicide is not registered in all states and may be subject to use restrictions. The distribution, sale, or use of an unregistered pesticide is a violation of federal and/or state law and is strictly prohibited. Check with your local Monsanto dealer or representative for the product registration status in your state.

Individual results may vary, and performance may vary from location to location and from year to year. This result may not be an indicator of results you may obtain as local growing, soil and weather conditions may vary. Growers should evaluate data from multiple locations and years whenever possible.

Always read and follow IRM, where applicable, grain marketing and all other stewardship practices and pesticide label directions. Bollgard II^®, Respect the Refuge and Cotton Design^®, Roundup PowerMAX^®, Roundup Ready^®, Roundup Technology^®, VaporGrip^®, Warrant^®, XtendFlex^® and XtendiMax^® are registered trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC. Deltapine^® is a registered trademark of Monsanto Company. LibertyLink^® and the Water Droplet Design^® is a registered trademark of Bayer. Gramoxone^® is a registered trademark of a Syngenta group company. Some of the product(s) discussed herein are restricted use pesticide(s) and may not be registered in all states. The distribution, sale, or use of an unregistered pesticide is a violation of federal and/or state law and is strictly prohibited. Check with your local dealer or product representative for the product registration status in your state. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2017 Monsanto Company.