Effectively controlling a wide variety of incompatible plant species is no easy task for vegetation managers. From product selections and application timing to expansive territories and unexpected infestations, it can be difficult for today’s practitioners to stay on top of it all.
While various herbicide treatment strategies can be used to maintain control of problematic vegetation that threatens roadway safety, electrical transmission reliability, lumber harvests or biodiverse wildlife habitat, most plants have the ability to grow tolerant to even the most trusted herbicide products on the market. Weed resistance to herbicides is relatively common on sites dedicated to agriculture, and rights-of-way commonly intersect with those areas. As mowers and other agricultural equipment is frequently transported, seeds from resistant species are commonly deposited along roadsides, where the control of incompatible vegetation is essential to roadway safety.
When targeted plants display the ability to survive and reproduce after exposure to a previously effective herbicide treatment, it’s imperative that vegetation managers make adjustments to enhance weed resistance management. The following insights shed light on one particular approach that can improve efficacy, productivity and resource management for most vegetation management programs.
Knowing When to Use New Chemistries
When targeted plants show signs of herbicide tolerance, it can be tempting for vegetation managers to simply use more product in hopes of reasserting control over problematic vegetation. There are cases in which this approach may work. However, any vegetation that survives treatments at increased use rates will likely produce equally resistant plants. Over time, increasing levels of tolerance will require higher and higher use rates. That’s why rotating new chemistries into planned treatment cycles can be an effective approach to not only maintaining control of incompatible vegetation, but also reducing the amount of herbicide used each year.
Introducing New Modes of Action
Product rotations are an easy way for vegetation managers to introduce new modes of action to a diverse arsenal of herbicide solutions. To ensure products from different herbicide groups with unique modes of action are used from one treatment to the next, always refer to product labels prior to purchase and/or application. The label should display a group number, which can be used to easily determine which modes of action are included in a product’s chemistry.
