Farmers in important crop-growing states should consider the environmentally unfriendly practice of deeply tilling fields to fight a growing problem with invasive “superweeds” that resist herbicides and choke crop yields, agricultural experts said this week.
Resistance to glyphosate, the main ingredient in widely used Roundup herbicide, has reached the point that row crop farmers in the Midwest are struggling to contain an array of weeds, agronomists say.
Extreme controls are needed to fight herbicide-resistant weeds in some areas, University of Missouri weed scientist Kevin Bradley said in a report to farmers. One particularly aggressive weed that can grow 1-2 inches a day is Palmer amaranth.
“Palmer amaranth is our No. 1 weed to watch in Missouri and the Midwest right now,” Bradley said.
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