Why do farmers use herbicides?
It’s important to revisit the reason why you use herbicides. “While most growers state that herbicides are used to control weeds, their reason should be that herbicides are used to protect potential crop yield,” he says. “This subtle difference in wording has considerable differences with regard to economics.” There is risk that weather variability may prevent you from making a timely glyphosate application. “With so many acres requiring postemergence glyphosate treatments at the same time, what happens if wet weather keeps you out of the field? Given the rapid early growth and interference of weeds, you can see why the use of preemergence herbicide is an excellent way to reduce the risks of poor glyphosate application timing,” notes Owen. Why do you need to “protect” the glyphosate-resistant crop trait? There is a need to diversify the selection pressure imposed on weed populations by the consistent and repeated use of glyphosate, he says. The repeated use of glyphosate results in the
