Using Pre-Emergence Herbicides and Overlapping Residuals as a Part of Your Integrated Weed Management

Xtendimax, Dicamba, 2,4-D, Enlist, Liberty, glyphosate: we’ve heard these names over the last twenty-five years as the next silver bullet in your weed control arsenal. There’s enough “magic” formulas out there to make your head spin. A few years ago, it was dicamba or Xtendimax. This year we’re hearing a lot about how the Enlist weed control system is going to take your acres to the next level. One part of the puzzle that most ignore of the Enlist weed control system is that this new system isn’t just utilizing the 2,4-D choline based Enlist One or Enlist Duo. This new system, as the last few before it, is utilizing a good residual pre-emerge herbicide as well as an overlapping application of a residual herbicide in crop. This will insure the future for all of the new herbicide traits we have been given over the last few years, because unfortunately, there aren’t any new modes of action in herbicides coming to us for quite a while.

Overlapping residuals isn’t a new idea, though it adds some additional cost to the bottom line, especially when paired with the new herbicides on the market. In both crops, we should always give ourselves a good start with a foundation from Herbicide Group 15. These products are also known as seedling root and shoot growth inhibitors that have commonly been thought of as grass control. Studies are now showing that small seeded broadleaves are also being controlled by products in this family such as Dual, Surpass, Harness, Zidua, etc. Our favorite products for corn would be Keystone LA NXT, Resicore, Harness, and SureStart II. Our favorite products for soybeans would be Authority Supreme, EverPreX, and Warrant or Warrant Ultra.

The second step is to utilize an overlapping residual product with your non-selective herbicide post emerge pass. In corn, we are using a low rate of glyphosate for grass control, and tank mixing it with Resicore, Keystone LA NXT, Explorer, or sometimes using the premix of Halex GT which includes your glyphosate and post residual herbicide all-in-one easy pre-mix. In soybeans, we are combining the non-selectives of Xtendimax, glyphosate, Liberty, or Enlist with EverPreX or Warrant.

By using these combinations of herbicides with appropriate application timing, you will ensure that you create a future free of weed escapes – helping you to build healthy soils and higher yields!