How to handle those weed-and-feed programs
LANCASTER Stormy
economic weather is causing more
and more farmers to seek shelter
in fuel, labor, and tune saving
weed-and-feed programs
The newest and fastest-growing
such option, impregnation of her
bicides on dry bulk fertilizer, en
tails the dealer spraying (im
pregnating) select herbicides on a
batch of dry fertilizer as it
tumbles
Then the fertilizer/herbicide
mixture is spread just as untreated
fertilizer would be, saving an ap
plication pass. Both compounds
subsequently are incorporated in a
single tillage pass.
Careful fertilizer/herbicide com
bination and field application are
crucial to consistent impregnated
control of common problem weeds
like foxtail, fall pamcum, and
velvet leaf
“We recommend a minimum
dry fertilizer rate of 200 pounds per
acre to assure all herbicide is
uniformly absorbed during im
pregnation and subsequently ap
plied,” says Doug Cates, Stauffer’s
head of market development. “The
maximum per-acre rate that can
be impregnated uniformly with
most herbicides is 400 to 450
pounds ”
A powdered drying agent such as
Microcel E helps condition the
mixture and is especially useful
when applying amounts near the
200-pound minimum.
“the herbicide/fertihzer mix
ture should be applied promptly
after impregnation by either the
dealer or grower,” Cates says
“But if bad weather interrupts ap
plication, the impregnated fer
tilizer should be tightly covered un
til it can be spread ”
He points out that consistent
weed control depends on proper
herbicide/fertilizer application -
which requires double-spreading
Further, impregnated fertilizers
applied at rates above 400 pounds
per acre must be double-spread to
assure proper distribution.
To compensate for the half
swath at the field’s perimeter
which receives only half of the her
bicide/fertilizer rate, Stauffer
recommends making an extra pass
around that perimeter with the
spreader fan speed, gate opening
and travel speed reduced to half
the setting normally used.
“Pre-plant incorporated her
bicides are well suited to im
pregnation because the incorpora
tion process assures proper
distribution of PPI chemicals at
Cherry growers to vote
on market checkoff
BIGLERVILLE - Red tart
cherry growers in eight states will
vote March 22-31 on whether to
continue the federal marketing
order regulating the handling of
their crop, a U.S Department of
Agriculture official said.
Tart cherry growers and
processors in Pennsylvania,
Michigan, New York, and
Wisconsin, Ohio, Virginia, West
Virginia and Maryland who
produced cherries for market in
canned, frozen, or other processed
form from May 1 to Dec 32, 1980,
are eligible to vote in the USDA
referendum, said William J
Doyle, produce marketing official
with USDA’s Agricultural
Marketing Service.
Doyle said the marketing order
would continue unless more than
normal rates,” Cates sayS.
“On the other hand, though,
distribution of pre-emerge her
bicides impregnated on fertilizer
(and not incorporated depends
totally on the uniformity of the
spreader pattern and higher her
bicide rates would be required, so
they aren’t labeled for impregna
tion ”
In com, Stauffer's Eradicane,
Eradicane/Bladex,
Eradicane/atrazine, Sutan+,
Sutan + /Bladex and
Sutan+/atrazme (all PPI) are
registered for impregnation on
many dry fertilizers.
As PPI treatments only, Dual
and combinations recently have
half the growers or handlers who
vote want it ended.
A provision of the marketing
order calls for a referendum to be
held every five years as a means of
determining whether growers and
handlers want to continue the
program,” Doyle said.
Ballots and voting instructions
will be mailed by the Agricultural
Marketing Service to all eligible
cherry growers and handlers by
March 22. Any eligible voter who
does not receive one should contact
Raymond C. Martin 111, AMS, rm.
2532-S., USDA, Washington, D.C ,
20250; phone 202/447-5157; or
Delbert D Rasmussen, Cherry
Administrative Board, P.O Box
187, Watervliet, Mich., 49098;
phone (616)463-3175
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 21,1981—C35
OUIO COUALEAS 1
PAESSuAE
CUN AOL
AGITATION
More and more dealers and custom applicators are in
stalling units like this one to impregnate dry fertilizer with
herbicides.
received a label
For soybeans, Treflan, Tolban
and Vernam are registered for the
same process (again, all PPI)
Both Eptam and Balan are
registered for impregnation for
alfalfa seedling establishment.
Eptam’s latest registration in
cludes all other crops under its ex
isting label: potatoes, sugarbeets,
dry beans and sunflowers. And
manufacturers of these herbicides
advise incorporating herbicide
impregnated fertilizer just as
growers incorporate liquid PPI
herbicide
He recommends incorporating
Sustan+, Eradicane, Eptam and
Vernam two to three inches deep.
Discs and field cultivators should
be set to cut four to six inches deep
and operated at five to seven miles
per hour.
The field cultivator should also
be equipped with five to seven-inch
sweeps. Sutan+ may be adequate
ly incorporated in one trip over the
field A second incorporation pass
MOSE FftOM CHPM FARM
PAESSUAE CON'flO- SVSTEW
S"AAV tOOM
iTOMIXEA
SUCTION | PAESSUAE COI.EA TO* MIXEA
PUMP
at an angle to and no deeper than
the first is recommended for
Eradicane, Eptam, and Vemam
treated fields
Most power-driven rotary tillers
will also incorporate herbicides ef
fectively if manufacturer’s in
structions for operating depth and
speed are followed carefully.
Some conservation-tillage com
belt growers have found that in
corporating impregnated fertilizer
works well on ground where sur
face debris is left over winter.
Applied over the debris, the im
pregnated fertilizer granules roll
into crevices. When the farmer
makes his reduced-tillages passes
incorporating both debris and fer
tilizer, the granules are evenly
distributed, resulting in more con
sistent weed control
Properly combined, spread, and
incorporated, PPI herbicides im
pregnated on dry bulk fertilizer
provide the same consistent week
control as the liquid PPI formula
tions,” Cates adds
SUPPORT
FOPtOOW
DRUM mixer
DAT
FEATILI2EA