WHITE PLAINS. NY It is
well-established fact that crop
rotation is an efficient and effec
tive way to help keep yields high
a nd costs down. At the University
of Illinois, Dr. Ellery Knake
points out that alternating legume
crops and com can save the fanner
money on fertilizer and insecti
cides, maintain better levels of soil
moisture, and produce better
yields.
But some farmers realize that
crop rotation also can improve
weed control.
Knake says that some weeds
tend to thrive in certain crops, but
not in others. For instance, fall
panicum tends to be more of a
problem in continuous, no-till
com that it is in soybeans. The late
planting of soybeans allows the
grower more time to control a late
starter such as wirestem muhly
—that tends to be more serious in
com than soybeans.
QUALITY CKftPTID 6Y
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PENNSYLVANIA
S.G. LEWIS I SON, INC.
152 N. Jannoravlllo Rd.
Wm Grove
US. YEARSLEY A SONS
Wot ChMWr
ADAMSTOWN EQUIP., INC.
■ox 450,
Adamatown
MLLER EQUIP. CO.
Rt. 1
■echlolaville
h/au i fiMii ■•mi GEORGE V. SEIPLE
WAN J. ZOOK FARM EQUIP. Vanßuian Road
Box S, Star Roma Eaalon
Belleville
CH. REWHMER A SONS
RO 1, Berwick
GUTSHALIS, INC.
Rt. 34, 1201 Spring Rd.
Carlialo
ON THE MOVE...
IN TO THE 901
Crop Rotation Helps Cut Down Weeds
Another weed-control advan
tage to crop rotation is the ability
to attack weeds from different
angles. Knake notes that controll
ing some weeds is easier in com
than in soybeans, and vice-versa.
“Annual morning glories are
easier to control in com than in
soybeans,” he says. “But shatter
cane is easier to control in beans.
So there is a real advantage to crop
rotation, since you can really bear
down on certain weeds in one crop
and control other weeds in the
next crop.”.
Also, the abundance of good
postemergence herbicides for use
in soybeans allows a grower who
rotates his crops to have a preplant
herbicide program one year and a
postemergence program the next.
If that farmer were to grow conti
nuous com, he would generally
have to stick with soil-applied her
bicides for maximum control of
grass weeds, giving up the second
HYDRAULIC
TOOTH CONTROL
for M and MD
models. Converts manually
operated spring teeth to
hydraulic control. Requires second
second tractor hydraulic system.
Cylinder is not included.
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WENNER FORD TRACTOR
Route 202
Coneerdvllle
DEERFIELD AG A TURF
CENTER, INC.
RD 2, Box 212
Wataontown, PA 17777
GEORGE N. GROSS, INC.
5201 Davidaburg Road
Dover
CHARLES SNYDER, WC.
RD #3
Tamaqua
MESSICK FARM EQUIP. CO.
Rt. 203, Rheama Exit
Elliabothtown
MEYERS MPLEMENTS, INC.
400 N. Alrltn Way
Qraanoaatle
angle of control.
Rotate herbicide,
too
A key point in getting the best
weed control by rotating crops is
making sure you switch herbicides
when you go from com to soy
beans, says Dr. Alex Martin of the
University of Nebraska.
Martin notes that “rotating your
crop without rotating your herbi
cide really doesn’t help you much
when it comes to improving weed
control.” He explains that if you
use the same herbicide in com as
you do in beans, the weeds that
develop resistance to the chemical
in com will be just as immune to
that same herbicide in soybeans.
The farmer, he says, would be bet
ter off simply rotating his herbi
cide when he changes his crop. If
he doesn’t rotate his crop, Martin
says he should try switching his
herbicide regularly, anyway.
“By switching between herbi-
The “M” model has separate manual levers
that control the depth of each of the two
rows of spring teeth. Control arms are
located at the center of the machine to
reduce strain on the mounting shafts.
This machine requires only one tractor
outlet. See OPTIONS for
raulic Tooth Control.
BROS.
RO 03, Box 13
Halifax
SHARTLESVILLE FARM SERVICE
RD «1, Box 1302
Hamburg
FINCH SERVICES'HANQVER, INC.
SIS Fradarick Stiaat
Hanovar
NORMAN D. CLARK A SON
Honoy Crova
C B. HOOBER A SON
Inlareouraa
LANDIS BROTHERS, MC.
1305 Manholm Pika
Laneaatar
UMBERGER'S OF FONTANA
RD 04, Box 132
Labanon
GUTSHALL'S, MC.
RD 2. Rt. 050 Waat
Loyavilla
NH FUCKER A SONS, INC.
Maxalawny
CLUGSTON FARM EQUIPMENT
HCR 00 - Box 22
Need more
A B C. GROFF, INC.
110 S. Railroad Avemia
Naw Holland
PEOPLE'S SALES A SERVICE
Oakland Mills
PIKEVILLE EQUIPMENT, INC
Olay
ANGELO'S FARM EQUIPMENT
RD *1 ■ Bon 303
Parryopoha
GRUMELU FARM SERVICE
Robarl Fulton Highway
Ouarryvilla
WALTEMYER'S S A S INC.
RD S 3, Boa 43-B
Rad Lion
SUMMIT MACHINERY, INC
PO Box 325
Soma root
MARYLAND
CECIL E. JACKSON
EQUIPMENT, INC.
RRD2 Boa 4SX
Oakland
FINCH SERVICES, INC
PO Boa 555
Waalminatar
AG INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT
1207 Telegraph Road
Rising Sun
cides regularly, a continuous-corn
farmer can help keep a larger
number of weeds in check,” Mar
tin says.
Farmers try plenty of new tech
niques, machines, and chemicals
in order to find the ones that work
best for them. When they find a
herbicide that suits their timing,
fits well with their crop or rota
tion, and controls the weeds that
give them the most trouble, may
feel that their weed problems are
over.
Not quite. No matter how good
a herbicide is, no chemical can
beat the forces of nature for too
long.
“Nature does not like the status
quo,” says Dr. Ron Doersch at the
University of Wisconsin. “When
something is introduced to the
system, the system will adapt to it.
That’s why we get problems like
herbicide-tolerant weeds and
reduced efficacy.”
NEW JERSEY
FRANK RYMAN A SONS
Washington
LESLIE FOGG
RD #3, Box 179
Bridgeton
REED BROTHERS EQUIPMENT
Patticoal Bndga Rd
Columbus
FOSTER EQUIPMENT SALES
Elmer
CALDWELL TRACTOR A EQUIP.
4W US Routa 46W
Falrdald
POMATOWSW BROS. EQUIP. CO.
Rout* 31 ft Church St.
Remington
SHORE TRACTOR CO
RD #1 - Rl f
Freehold
MAKAREVICH BROS. INC
Stiger Street
Hackettatown
Lancaster Farming Saturday, April 1,1989-D33
Doersch explains that repeated
use of a herbicide can lead to the
development of herbicide
resistant strains of weeds. These
plants were probably always pre
sent in the field in very small num
bers, he says. In the absence of
herbicide-susceptible strains, their
numbers can literally mushroom
in just a few years. Over time, a
field that once had good suppres
sion of a certain weed can fall vic
tim to dramatic escapes.
Knake points to strains of pig
weed and lambsquarters that arc
resistant to atrazine in continuous
com. He recommends rotating the
field to soybeans, then attacking
the weeds with a different
herbicide.
The good performance of some
herbicides make many users hcsis
lant to give up using those pro
ducts, even for just a year or two.
But university researchers warn
that growers can count on consis
tent control only if they use the
products correctly.
Docrsch notes that there arc
situations where rotating out of a
favorite herbicide seems like an
unnecessary inconvenience,
although it is just the opposite.
“There arc specific weed prob
lems where farmers- have found
the best herbicides to handle the
situation, and there aren’t many
other products around that can do
the same job,” he says. But
Doersch says that rotating herbi
cides in continuous corn is the key
to jnaintaining these high levels of
weed control.
“Although rotating both your
crop and your herbicide simulta
neously is the most efficient way
to maintain complete weed con
trol, the reality is that many far
mers in Nebraska simply don’t
rotate their crop,” Martin says. “In
those cases, herbicide rotation is
the key to maximizing control.
Herbicide rotation helps the far
mer maintain the utility of the her
bicide he chooses, even though he
can’t use it every year. In the long
run, though, it pays off for him.”
Hamilton Appoints
District Manager
EPHRATA. (Lancaster)
Bruce M. Boe has been appointed
district manager for southwestern
Pennsylvania by Hamilton Equip
ment, Inc.
Boe, a native of Westmoreland
County, is a 1971 graduate of the
Pennsylvania Slate University
with a degree in animal science.
Hamilton Equipment, Inc. is a
wholesale distributor of farm
equipment, light industrial, lawn
and garden equipment. Hamilton
Equipment has warehouses in
Ephrata and Raphine, Va.
f
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