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Agronomist: Variety of herbicide platforms is a hedge against resistance
An agronomist says the variety of available herbicide platforms requires sharp management but could limit resistance issues. Arne Harstad, who farms and works as an agronomist in northeastern South Dakota, says farmers are working with Enlist, Extend, Liberty and Roudup Ready soybeans this year.
“Each one comes with a different set of chemistry that we use, a different set of herbicides,” Harstad told Brownfield Ag News, “and so we’re going to have to manage very very closely on what we use on our bean fields.”
The four herbicide platforms are a hedge against overusing any one technology, according to Harstad, a board member of the South Dakota Soybean Association.
“We can rotate like we would a crop, or different varieties, we can rotate chemical platforms,” he said, “and so we can switch around chemical platforms we are using and really truly stay away from building resistance.”
