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South Texas cotton farmer Dale Allen needs technologies to control some really tough weeds. He chooses the Enlist™ weed control system.

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It takes an early bird to get ahead of weeds along the Upper Gulf Coast of Texas. Dale Allen of Lolita, Texas, may start tillage in January and apply a burndown treatment in mid- to late-February to stomp out the small-seeded pigweeds that rise by mid-March.

This spring was wet and cold, so Allen — like so many other farmers around the country — was anxious to get into the fields. He planted PhytoGen® cottonseed with the Enlist trait for the third year. The reasons: yield and weed control.

“You have to have yield: That’s No. 1,” Allen says. “PhytoGen varieties produce well on our farm. They also offer good seed quality and emergence. The seed vigor is strong.”

Then there are the weeds.

“I chose Enlist cotton because I think 2,4-D choline offers superior weed control,” Allen adds.

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Near-zero volatility, limited drift

Allen is keenly aware of the concerns his neighbors have about herbicide movement. So, he appreciates the ultra-low volatility that’s inherent in the 2,4-D choline used in Enlist One® and Enlist Duo® herbicides.

“Enlist herbicides don’t move because of volatility,” Allen says. “But there are a lot of fears about herbicide movement. Volatility is hard to quantify. It’s hard to see.”

Allen realizes the real potential issue to be aware of during application is drift.

“Physical drift can happen with any herbicide,” Allen says. “But that’s not volatility. And 2,4-D choline doesn’t drift like the 2,4-D amine forms drift.”

He says attention to detail and following best management practices significantly decrease the occurrence of drift.

“It’s Sprayer 101: You’ve got to check wind speed, sprayer speed, boom height and so on,” he says.

Talk to your neighbors

The last thing Allen wants to do is impact a neighbor because of herbicide drifting onto their crop.

“I realize the value of relationships,” he says. “One little thing can break it. That’s why we try to do the right thing. We communicate with producers around us. We all talk.”

He says his neighbors understand the need for new weed control technologies and they want them to succeed. They work together to ensure they’ll have access to new weed control technologies.

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Adopt multiple modes of action

Allen appreciates multiple modes of action to suppress weeds all season long.

“The old saying, ‘Start clean, Stay clean,’ is true,” he says. “Doing that will produce a lot of success. We need to use those preemergence herbicides.”

Allen is a fan of rotating chemistries, but he emphasizes the need to be aware of other crops growing nearby. He likes the fact that Enlist cotton gives him postemergence options, including glufosinate.

“If we’re in a situation where the wind isn’t favorable and we can’t spray 2,4-D, we still have the option to use straight glufosinate,” he says. “It’s nice to have that flexibility. If we’re worried about affecting dicamba-tolerant cotton because of the potential to drift, we need to go with glufosinate.”

Access to answers and education

“PhytoGen provided a lot of help,” he says. “I would ask, ‘Can we spray in this situation?’ They taught me how best to use this product. It’s helped me share knowledge with other farmers.”

Learning the system and using it correctly can make farmers more confident in their success.

“You don’t need to be scared of Enlist,” Allen says. “You just need to use it right.”

Read about more farmers’ experiences with the Enlist system at ExperiencingEnlist.com. Also, follow us on Twitter at @EnlistOnline and on YouTube.

 

™®Enlist, Enlist Duo, Enlist E3, the Enlist Logos and Enlist One are trademarks of Dow AgroSciences, DuPont or Pioneer, and their affiliated companies or their respective owners. ®PhytoGen and the PhytoGen Logo are trademarks of PhytoGen Seed Company, LLC. PhytoGen Seed Company is a joint venture between Mycogen Corporation, an affiliate of Dow AgroSciences LLC, and the J.G. Boswell Company. The transgenic soybean event in Enlist E3 soybeans is jointly developed and owned by Dow AgroSciences LLC and MS Technologies LLC. Enlist Duo® and Enlist One® herbicides are not registered for use in all states or counties. Contact your state pesticide regulatory agency to determine if a product is registered for sale or use in your area. Enlist Duo and Enlist One herbicides are the only 2,4-D products authorized for use with Enlist crops. Consult Enlist herbicide labels for weed species controlled. Always read and follow label directions. ©2019 Corteva

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