ILSOYADVISOR POST

Liberty Application Procedures

Weed Management
Eric Ifft
June 19, 2018
The number of acres planted to LibertyLink® soybeans has grown significantly in 2018 and I want to thank all of you who plant LibertyLink beans as an alternative to traditional glyphosate beans. Here is a list Bayer uses to help growers be successful with Liberty herbicide application technology.
  1. Start clean, prior to Liberty application, with a burndown herbicide or tillage (vertical tillage tools not recommended). 
  2. Apply full labeled rates of a soil residual herbicide with 2 effective modes of action targeting problem weeds approximately 1 week before planting, or as close to planting time as possible. Liberty may be mixed with a burndown herbicide, if necessary.
  3. For Liberty applications target small weeds: 3” average weeds for optimum control.
  4. Apply no less than 32 oz./A of Liberty. However, 36 – 43 oz. may be required due to weed size or adverse weather conditions.
  5. Use 2.0-3.0 lb./A of AMS. Alternative replacement products must provide an equivalent amount of free ammonia. (I recommend 2 lbs. per acre when it is hot. You can see the beans yellow a little with this much AMS; that’s normal.)  
  6. Use correct nozzles providing medium to coarse droplets. Suggested nozzles include Turbo TeeJet®, Turbo TwinJet® and Hypro GuardianAIR® Twin. We are shooting for 300-micron-size droplets.
  7. Water volume of no less than 15 GPA is required, but 18 – 20 should be used when weeds are thick.  
  8. Reduce sprayer speed for dense or large weed populations—10 mph is recommended. Spray at wind speeds of less than 10 mph.
  9. The addition of a deposition/drift reduction product may reduce spray coverage and product performance; therefore, we do not recommend using one.
  10. Recommended Product Mixing Order: 1) ½ water, 2) AMS, 3) tank mix partners, 4) remaining water, 5) Liberty
  11. Scout fields within 7 days to gauge the efficacy of the Liberty applications
  12. If weed densities are extreme, a 2nd application of Liberty within 7 – 10 days may be necessary.
  13. Do NOT allow weeds to recover before 2nd application
Please reread #4 above, as it has come into play in 2018. In many areas our soybean pre-emergence herbicides did not get enough water to activate. This means we are spraying larger weeds postemergence than we desired. Please pay attention to weed size and rates of Liberty.  
 
I realize that we have promoted 32 oz. as the starting rate for this product, but I feel many weeds are now larger than 4 inches tall and may require a higher rate. You can legally spray 43 oz. of Liberty in one application and 87 oz. annually.  
Eric Ifft
Eric Ifft has been a technical consultant with Bayer CropScience since 2008. Contact him at eric.ifft@bayer.com or 309-825-3730.


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