Category: Weeders of the West
Managing Dry Fallow on Idle Irrigated Cropland
As drought persists across the west, irrigation water shortages and restrictions continue to expand. Parts of Central Oregon and the Klamath Basin were particularly heavily…
Insights Into Alternative Herbicides to Glyphosate
Glyphosate is the most widely used post-emergence herbicide in the region for several reasons. Glyphosate is non-selective. This means it can be used to control…
The Atrocious Summer 2021 Growing Season in the Treasure Valley of Eastern Oregon and Southwest Idaho
After I thought long and hard about what to write about this week, I settled on the 2021 cropping season in the Treasure Valley of…
Screening Weeds for Herbicide Resistance, An Underutilized Resource
We have the technology… so let us quit spraying and praying! “Do you have herbicide resistant weeds in your fields?” This is a question I…
Mechanical Weed Control Under the Vine
Vineyard floor management can be divided into two areas, the area under the vine and the area between the rows. Cover crops are often planted…
Dry Weather & Herbicide Carryover Concerns
The memories of 2020 would remain with us for years to come. Most of us couldn’t wait for 2020 to come to an end. We…
Occasional Tillage and Herbicide Resistance
The following article appeared as a Commentary in the Capitol Press earlier this year. Matthew Weaver heard a presentation I gave on herbicide resistance where…
Precision vs. Uniform Spraying
Continuing with the precision agriculture topic (also known as digital agriculture) that my colleagues have mentioned during the past few weeks, I concur that it…
Herbicide Weed Resistance, Robotics, and Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture
Records suggest that humans and weeds have coexisted since the beginning of recorded time. As such, challenges to manage weeds have been a long-standing issue…
The Future of Weed Control
What does weed control for agriculture look like in the not-so-distant future? Some are making big bets it will look much more automated. While many…
Utilize Non-Volatile Herbicides When Controlling Broadleaf Weeds This Spring
Spring is a critical time to control newly emerging annual broadleaf weeds in a variety of crops. As temperatures increase, so too does the risk…
Managing Herbicide Resistance with Electric Weed Control
Herbicide Resistance has also been a problem in tree nut crops for quite some time. In hazelnuts in Oregon, the most problematic herbicide-resistant weed is…
Two Are Better Than One
In the Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck wrote, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they…
Dead Weeds Don’t Develop Resistance
Last fall, I gave a presentation on herbicide resistance management at an Idaho Barley Commission meeting. During the discussion, the issue of herbicide rate came…
Why is Weedy Ryegrass so Troublesome?
Species in the Lolium genus, particularly annual and perennial ryegrass, are important seed crops in Oregon that are marketed in other parts of the country…
A Potential Tool to Control Herbicide Resistant Weeds During Harvest?
Harvest weed seed control (HWSC) is an innovative, non-chemical tool that has proved successful in Australia to control herbicide-resistant weeds. HWSC takes advantage of weed…
Community Management of Herbicide Resistant Weeds – An Update
Herbicide resistance can be difficult—or impossible!—to manage alone, not the least because weeds are pesky in their ability to spread from farm to farm. Based…
A Picture Worth a Thousand Words
June 22, 2020 was a beautiful day to take a walk across the WSU Wilke Research and Extension Farm near Davenport, Washington, and scout for…
Herbicide Resistance: Looking Back and Forward
As I watch the snow falling outside my basement window – COVID-19 has driven me from my university office to my basement – I find…
Managing Perennial Weeds in Vegetable Crops: A Case of Yellow Nutsedge in Onion
Farming as a business presents many challenges and one of them is managing weeds. It is even more so when you are a vegetable or…