ILSOYADVISOR POST

Weed Management: Evolve Your Weed Control Strategy with Liberty®

This post highlights material covered in a breakout session sponsored by Bayer CropScience at the recent ILSoyAdvisor Field Days. To see other posts in this Field Days recap series, go to ilsoy.org/fielddays.

Waterhemp control is a big challenge for Illinois growers due to resistance to glyphosate, ALS and PPO herbicides. Of the ten available herbicide modes of action, Liberty stands alone as the remaining tool effective at handling waterhemp in post-emergence soybeans.

Follow these application guidelines to achieve maximum control:

  • Start clean and stay clean: use a burndown or tillage in the spring to start plants in clean fields—and ensure they stay that way.
  • Pair Liberty with residuals: apply a residual pre-emerge at planting, and apply another overlapping residual with your post-Liberty application.
  • Target weeds under 3 inches: the 2 – 4-inch range is the sweet spot for maximum effectiveness.
  • Optimize coverage: Liberty is a contact herbicide, so thorough coverage is required for best results. Use an appropriate combination of nozzle size and pressure to generate medium-size droplets and optimize coverage.

Looking to the future, be sure to regularly rotate the modes of action you employ against weeds on your operation. Incorporating multiple modes helps you to stay ahead of the curve and continue evolving your strategy before plants become resistant.

Eric Ifft has been a technical consultant with Bayer CropScience since 2008. Contact him at eric.ifft@bayer.com or 309-825-3730.


Illinois Soybean Association
The Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) checkoff and membership programs represent more than 43,000 soybean farmers in Illinois. The checkoff funds market development and utilization efforts while the membership program supports the government relations interests of Illinois soybean farmers at the local, state, and national level through the Illinois Soybean Growers (ISG). ISA upholds the interests of Illinois soybean producers through promotion, advocacy, and education with the vision of becoming a market leader in sustainable soybean production and profitability. For more information, visit the website www.ilsoy.org and www.ilsoygrowers.com.


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