Weed Watch: Waterhemp

 

Waterhemp

Waterhemp is a notorious member of the pigweed family, known for its tough-to-manage resilience and ability to develop resistance. The good news is, farmers can still fight waterhemp with proper use of existing technologies and effective management strategies.1

 

Waterhemp is most common in the Midwest but is found from Texas to Maine.2,3

 

Season-long competition by waterhemp can reduce soybean yields by 44%4,5

 

Young Plants

Waterhemp can grow up to 1-1/4 inches per day. Seedlings are hairless and have longer, pear-shaped leaves that look waxy or glossy.5

 

Mature Plants

Waterhemp can range from mere inches up to 12 feet tall but generally grows to about 4 or 5 feet in most agronomic settings.3

 

Seed Pain Points

A prolific seed producer, generally producing 250,000 seeds per plant, but some can produce 1 million or more under optimal conditions.4

Waterhemp has a remarkable ability to adapt to control tactics and has developed resistance to many different classes of herbicides. It is critical to follow your management practices vigilantly to avoid this troublesome weed taking over your fields. Cultural practices that enhance the competitiveness of the crop, such as narrow row spacing or optimal soybean planting populations, help improve the consistency of your herbicide program.4

Keys to Managing Waterhemp4,5

  1. Rotate crops

    to diversify herbicide programs and weed control strategies.

  2. Start clean

    with a burndown herbicide or tillage.

  3. Apply a pre-emergence residual application,

    using a residual product within 2 weeks before planting or prior to crop emergence.

  4. Apply a postemergence application to target small weeds early,

    before weeds grow taller than 4 inches.

  5. Prevent Seed Production.

    If weeds escape, use tillage or physically remove them before plants produce seed.

1 Dietz, J., Successful Farming (Sep. 23, 2015). The good, the bad, and the ugly of waterhemp management. Retrieved from http://www.agriculture.com
2 University of Missouri Division of Plant Sciences (Sep. 12, 2019). Weed ID Guide, Common waterhemp. Retrieved from http://www.weedid.missouri.edu
3 Nordby, D., Hartzler, B., Bradley, K. (November 2007). Biology and management of waterhemp. The Glyphosate, Weeds, and Crop Series. GWC-13. Retrieved from http://www.weedscience.missouri.edu
4 Take Action. United States Soybean Board (Sep. 12, 2019). Waterhemp management in soybeans. Retrieved from http://www.weedscience.missouri.edu
5 Crop Science (Sep. 12, 2019). How to tackle waterhemp. Retrieved from http://www.cropscience.bayer.us

The System Proven to Fight the Toughest Weeds

Tough-to-control weeds like waterhemp can cause significant damage to your yield. See how Roundup Ready® Xtend Technology stacks up against competitors when controlling waterhemp and more.
See the Comparison

No dicamba may be used in-crop with seed with Roundup Ready® Xtend Technology, unless and until approved or specifically permitted, and no dicamba formulations are currently registered for such use in the 2024 season. Please follow www.roundupreadyxtend.com/pages/xtendimax-updates.aspx for status updates.

Based on court ruling and EPA Existing Stocks Order* on XtendiMax® herbicide registration, Bayer has stopped its sale and distribution of XtendiMax® Herbicide. Visit our XtendiMax herbicide updates page to learn the latest.

*Low-volatility dicamba products subject to the ruling include XtendiMax® herbicide with VaporGrip® Technology, Engenia® herbicide and Tavium® Plus VaporGrip® Technology herbicide.

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XtendiMax® herbicide with VaporGrip® Technology is part of Roundup Ready® Xtend Technology, is a restricted use pesticide and must be used with VaporGrip® Xtra Agent (or an equivalent Volatility Reduction Adjuvant). For approved tank-mix products (including VRAs and DRAs), nozzles and other important label information visit XtendiMaxApplicationRequirements.com

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