|
|
|
Weeds
Volume 57 Number 20 Date 08/30/2012 WINTER ANNUAL WEEDS - Control of winter annuals in fall offers several benefits, including fewer weed problems at planting and improved efficacy of spring herbicide treatments. Winter annuals such as common chickweed, yellow rocket, shepherd's purse and henbit emerge in fall, overwinter as low rosettes, and set seed in spring. Serious infestations have grown increasingly common in Wisconsin and the Midwest because the popular no-till/Roundup ReadyŽ cropping system fails to target most winter annual plants prior to seed set. Although winter annuals usually do not compete directly with corn and soybean growth, they can interfere with spring planting and tillage, and may attract early-season pests like the black cutworm. Optimal timing of herbicide application for control of emerged winter annuals is mid-October to mid-November. --Clarissa Hammond, DATCP Weed Scientist 
|
|