How will you control weeds during stand establishment? - Pioneer

How will you control weeds during stand establishment?
Consider Pioneer® brand varieties with Genuity ® Roundup Ready ® technology
• University trials average
½ ton per acre advantage
for Roundup Ready ® weed
control system in
establishment year.
• Can be a strong fit for
growers who already use
herbicides, especially
beyond establishment
year.
Arlington, Wisconsin
Seeded June 5; Sprayed July 10
Photographed July 16, Six Days Post-Spray
Sprayed with Roundup®
Varieties with Genuity ® Roundup
Ready ® technology
• Great for commercial
alfalfa growers, dairies, or
livestock producers who
don’t want weeds in their
alfalfa hay or haylage.
Conventional
Varieties
Other Herbicide*
*A broad spectrum early post-emergence herbicide
® Roundup Ready, Roundup and Genuity are registered trademarks used under license from Monsanto Company.
All products are trademarks of their manufacturer.
• Easy & Convenient,
strong overall weed
control with
excellent crop
safety.

Recommended First
Application of Roundup®:
• At 3 to 4 trifoliate leaf
alfalfa growth stage
• Before weeds overcome
alfalfa
• Roundup WeatherMAX ® or
Roundup PowerMAX ®
• 22-44 ounces per acre

• Null Plants, six days post-spray with
Roundup herbicide applied on a
variety with Genuity ® Roundup
Ready ® technology
• Roughly 5-7% of
plants will be null
plants
• Null plants do not
have the gene for
Roundup® resistance
• When null plants are
sprayed out at 3-4
trifoliate stage,
remaining plants fill
in the stand
• If waiting until stand
is fully established
before first spray,
there will be slight
yield loss

I seed alfalfa with a nurse crop for erosion
control…How can I make that work with Roundup Ready ® ?
A nurse crop provides erosion control during early stand establishment
of alfalfa. But just a few weeks after seeding, the nurse crop can begin
to hold back the alfalfa. That’s good timing for a Roundup ® application,
when alfalfa plants begin to provide soil coverage, and the nurse crop
is no longer needed for erosion control.
I seed alfalfa with oats because I need the forage or
grain. If alfalfa with Genuity ® Roundup Ready is planted with a nurse
crop intended for harvest, you must wait until after harvest for first
Roundup application. Alfalfa that has to compete with a nurse crop
through harvest is spindly, not yet a fully established stand, so null
plant take-out may not have much yield impact. University research is
underway to learn more about this practice.
I want crop safety and extended application timing.
Consider application timing and crop safety, or tolerance of the
herbicide by the alfalfa crop. Roundup herbicide has a broad weed
control spectrum, with multiple application timing possibilities, and
good crop safety. Several herbicide options for alfalfa have a short
application timing window, with best efficacy when weeds are very
small. No matter which herbicide choice you make, please read and
follow label directions for best weed control and crop safety.
I might have gly-resistant weeds…What can I do to
control them in alfalfa? Gly-resistant weed species won’t be
controlled by glyphosate. Consider an integrated approach, with a
selective herbicide in addition to Roundup if planting alfalfa with
Roundup Ready technology. Also consider additional herbicide options
in other crops in rotation. And depending on the weed species, a
rigorous alfalfa cutting schedule may help provide control.
I want more yield and better
forage quality from my alfalfa in
the seeding year. Ten universities
conducted research on first-year yield of
alfalfa with the Genuity ® Roundup Ready ®
technology, versus similar non-RR varieties
with other herbicides. The yield results
averaged ½ ton per acre more alfalfa hay,
with better forage quality, during the first
year of production when alfalfa was springseeded.

I have some tough weeds that make alfalfa
stand establishment difficult. Most farmers
have some tough weeds to contend with in their fields.
Weeds that grow faster and taller than seedling alfalfa
can really slow down alfalfa stand establishment and
hurt productivity, especially in the seeding year.
Ragweed, lambsquarters, pigweed, and certain
grasses, can be especially problematic. Choose a
herbicide that controls the weed species you will face.
I’d prefer to spring seed, but weed issues
make it difficult. Growers who don’t use a
herbicide during stand establishment often choose late
summer seeding to sidestep the spring flush of annual
weeds. But late summer seedings can still have weed
pressure. Effective weed control with a herbicide can
make spring seeding more practical, with the benefit of
more production during the seeding year.
I want to control weeds in older stands as
they age. Alfalfa stands can lose productivity as they
age, but may still be profitable. Weeds can be
problematic as they fill in gaps in these aging stands.
Growers who want to keep aging alfalfa stands in
production have the Roundup Ready ® option for
controlling weeds, and the potential for maintaining
alfalfa quality with fewer weeds in their hay or haylage.
I like to plant some grass with my alfalfa.
Does that rule out Roundup Ready?
University trials are underway to determine the success
of inter-seeding grass into alfalfa after Roundup ® is
applied at the 3-4 trifoliate leaf stage. Until the results
are in, consider whether grass is really needed. A
review of several digestibility trials found that grass is
more variable than alfalfa, with equal to lower overall
digestibility parameters than alfalfa.*
*Grass Versus Legume Forages for Dairy Cattle. 2008.
Paulson, Jung, Raeth-Knight and Linn (Univ of Minnesota & USDA-ARS)
http://www.extension.umn.edu/forages/pdfs/paulson_mn_nutrition_conference_2008_grass_vs_legume.pdf