The future of weed control is tank mixes, according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and herbicide efficacy is greatly affected by what exactly is in the mix and how it's applied

Nikola Arsenijevic, a graduate student at Rodrigo Werle’s University of Wisconsin-Madison weed research lab, is evaluating the impact of different tank mixes and nozzle selections on control of waterhemp, giant ragweed and annual grasses in soybeans.

“From a resistance-management standpoint, it’s always better to have more than one effective chemical in a tank, which will help mitigate herbicide resistance evolution,” Arsenijevic says.

Tank-Mix Weed Control

In July, Arsenijevic collected his first year of data from two sites in southern Wisconsin. The collection evaluated weed control by species and overall control 28 days after making post-emergence applications of several glufosinate and PPO-inhibitor tank mixes at 15 gallons per acre (see sidebar). 5 ounces of Sonic (sulfentrazone and cloransulam-methyl) was also applied to all plots as a pre-emergence herbicide after planting.

KEEPING CLEAN. This graph shows how well various herbicides and tank mixes controlled all present weed species within two plots in southern Wisconsin. Each herbicide or mix was applied with 3 different nozzles to assess how droplet size impacted weed control. The dashed line represents 90% weed control, which researcher Nikola Arsenijevic considered satisfactory weed control. Arsenijevic says Liberty makes a “night and day difference” in how clean the plot is due to its ability to control grasses. Credit: Nikola Arsenijevic

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The addition of Liberty…