Herbicide-Resistant Weed May Invade Crops UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre Co.) Field crop producers and landscapers across Pennsylvania should be vigilant for a new strain of super-weed threatening to gain a foothold in the state, according to an agronomist in Penn State’s College of Agricul tural Sciences. William Curran, professor of weed science and extension spe cialist for Penn State Cooperative Extension, has warned that sur rounding states have been wres tling with a variety of the com mon annual weed known as “horseweed” or “marestail.” This variety, he said, is showing resis tance to glyphosate, the active in gredient in many popular herbi cides. “Horseweed is very common in the Northeast it’s actually a native species in Pennsylvania,” Curran said. “It’s mostly a prob lem along roadsides and areas that aren’t tilled. Glyphosate is Ag Committee Hears Testimony On WTO WASHINGTON, D.C. The House Committee on Agriculture conducted a hearing May 21 on the status of World Trade Organ ization (WTO) negotiations on agriculture, the wide range of po sitions taken by other countries in these negotiations, and efforts to reach a consensus on agricul ture reform in the WTO. Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman and U.S. Trade Repre sentative Robert Zoellick testified before the committee. In his opening statement, Ag Committee Chairman Bob Good latte said, “For American farm ers and ranchers, trade is an es- V/emr hsmm Much ''We're Here To Ser% e ' ' FARMS - mm We can insure all farms from mushrooms to fish, and from dairy to nursery stock. No farm is too complex or too small for us to help you with. hi Please Call For Quotations or Information. We Offer All Types of Farm and Agribusiness Insurance • Lisa Sprout • Roger Slusher • Bob Lee • Sarah Roman * Cindy Beyer • Darryl Graham • Terry Wingert 27 East State Street, Quarryvide, PA 17566 (717) 786-1711 (800) 882-1415 MRI - At Afforda 11 Most Insurances Accepted • New state-of-the-art Open MRI • Most experienced Radiologists in the area • Friendly professional staff • Reports to your doctor within • We accept $475.00 cash(TCtodlt‘i^ for a normal study, including doqtpn* jeadin^f It's Worth The Drive. Ask W&MWi the active ingredient in Roundup, Touch Down, Glypho-Max and more it’s the primary product used to kill emerging weeds at planting time. If a weed is resis tant to glyphosate, it’s a huge threat not only to soybeans but to all crops grown with no-till plant ing techniques.” In 2000, glyphosate-resistant strains of the weed were identi fied in a few isolated fields on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. By 2001, it had moved into about 30 fields. By 2002, it was in many no-till soybean fields in Dela ware. It since has been identified in New Jersey, Maryland, Virgin ia, Ohio, Tennessee, southern Kentucky and possibly as far west as Missouri. “This year, we’re really con cerned about this weed getting a foothold in Pennsylvania,” Cur ran said. “It could become an an nual summer problem not just for corn and soybean growers, but sential part of their livelihood. The WTO negotiations offer an opportunity for the United States to increase agricultural exports. It is essential that the voices of America’s farmers and ranchers are heard in the WTO negotia tions and that U.S. agriculture is a full partner in all negotiations.” In November 2001, the World Trade Organization Fourth Min isterial in Doha provided the timetable for worldwide trade ne gotiations on a variety of sub jects, including agriculture. WTO agricultural negotiations began in 2000, in accord with the Uruguay Round Agreement, and then con- Lebanon, PAX7O42 759-225-3WO Call 8 * 5 PM M-F also for the landscaping industry, where glyphosate-based herbi cides are used frequently to kill weeds among bedding plants, in shrubs and on roadsides.” Over the next several weeks, Curran urges farmers, landscap ers and others to keep an eye out for horseweed that isn’t con trolled by the standard applica tion of herbicide. “I think it’s inevitable that it’ll be here it probably already is, and just hasn’t been identified,” Curran said. “This weed gets a foothold in no-till continuous soybean crops where they grow soybeans in the same field for several years in a row. In Penn sylvania, that’s not the norm. Most of the time, our more di verse crop rotations could keep this problem at bay. ‘ln places where it’s a problem such as Kentucky and Tennes see they’re rotating no-till cot ton with no-till soybeans, so they’re using the same herbicide tinued under the Doha Declara tion. “If the Doha Round is going to be successful, the European Union is going to have to reform its Common Agricultural Policy,” said Ranking Member Charlie Stenhohn. “With regard to multilateral trade rules, Ambassador Zoelick has correctly pointed out that ag riculture is 50 years behind the industrial sector, and I look for ward to working with him and Chairman Goodlatte to reverse this situation.” The stated U.S. goal of these negotiations is to establish a mar ket-oriented trading system that is fair, builds on strong rules with specific commit ments on government sup port to agriculture, and for countries to reach agreement by January 1,2005. 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The key to preventing these kinds of prob lems is to rotate crops and herbi cide families, change modes of action by not using the same her bicide annually, and use non chemical methods to manage weeds.” Curran said if you suspect a resistance problem, notify your county Penn State Cooperative Extension agent immediately so that he or she can confirm that a problem exists. “Investigate the causes and factors,” he said. “How big was it at application? What rate or ap plications were applied? Is there a spray pattern associated with the surviving plant? Are the plants displaying different levels of herbicide injury? Just because you didn’t kill the weed doesn’t mean it’s resistant. In fact, fre quently it’s not.” Each horseweed plant produc es hundreds of thousands of seeds that disburse on the wind Negotiations aimed at leveling the playing field through harmonization of tariffs and domestic support and elimination of export subsidies. The March 31, 2003 deadline, expressed in the Doha Develop ment Agenda, for adopting the reduction commitments passed without any agreement on pro ceeding with negotiations. How ever, it is anticipated that the WTO Fifth Ministerial, to take place in Mexico in September 2003, will help move the negotiat ing process forward. Goodlatte and Stenholm ex pect to lead a delegation of ag committee members to the Minis terial meetings in Cancun. Agricultural tariffs around the world average 62 percent while U.S. agricultural tariffs average 12 percent. The European Union (EU) is the largest user of trade distorting domestic support and is allowed to spend over $6O bil lion per year while the U.S. is al lowed $l9 billion. Additionally, the EU uses over 90 percent of the world’s export subsidies. The committee is also sched uled to conduct a June 18 hear ing during to hear from several organizations representing farm ers and ranchers across the U.S. like dandelions. Swift action with alternative herbicides and other physical control methods can eliminate the plants, Curran said. Once they go to seed, it’s too late. “We’re talking about horse weed today, but there are other weeds that can develop resis tance,” he said. “There have been some glyphosate performance problems with common lamb squarters and other weeds on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and in portions of the Midwest. There have been more resistance prob lems worldwide with the ALS-in hibitor family a different fami ly of herbicides than with any other family, and we’re just start ing to see those problems in Pennsylvania the last two or three years. The bottom line is that overreliance on any pest management strategy will even tually produce problems and pos sibly failure. Herbicide or pest re sistance is just one example that’s close to home.” Free Nitrogen Soil Tests CARLISLE (Cumberland Co.) Do you know how much nitro gen is available in your corn fields? Do you know how much nitrogen fertilizer your cornfields need for maximum production? Most farmers will answer these questions with an educated guess, but why guess when crop yields can be affected. The most accurate means available to answer these ques tions is soil sampling. A soil test taken in March will accurately estimate the amount of phospho rous (P) and potassium (K)levels in the soil. Unfortunately, this re port does not give the concentra tion of nitrogen (N) as it does for Pand K. To determine the available N, a soil test should be taken as close to the time of crop uptake as possible. A soil sample taken from a cornfield when the corn is approximately 8-12 inches tall can help determine what the N levels are in the soil. Once the samples are taken, the results provide the farmer with a means of rapid soil nitrate analysis. As a service to Cumberland County farmers, this test is of fered free of charge. The staff will assist in sample collection and run the test. Results from the test will be available within one or two days of sampling. Those interested, can contact the agricultural staff at the Cum berland County Conservation District (717) 240-7812.
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