Crop Protection
Think differentThe magical years of plant-spray-harvest-till are gone.Jim Legvold’s weed-management story began when this Vincent, Iowa, farmer planned out his program, embodying a new approach. But the plot thickened after an extremely wet spring and cool summer thwarted his best-laid plans. The wetter, more poorly drained, high-pH areas cut herbicide efficiency by 25% and, in some cases, 50%. Although he planned meticulously, Legvold doesn’t feel like a model weed-control farmer this year.Weather extremes, weed adaptability and low crop prices challenged his long-term plan of corn-soybean herbicides, residual herbicides and rotated modes of action.Legvold “had problems this year just like everyone else,” observes Mike Owen, Iowa State University weed scientist. “Weeds adapt better to environmental conditions better than crops do. Sometimes you can’t beat Mother Nature.”