2020 Spring Burndown

Mar 23, 2020


2020 Spring burndown

          Well for most 2019 fall burndown was nonexistent; weather, late harvest, soft field conditions etc.  I am a huge believer in fall burndown.  The benefits of fall burndown are: bigger window to apply, greater efficacy of the chemistry, normally better field conditions, more options for weed control, a clean weed free field to seed/plant into.  With what we went through last fall that didn’t happen and we are behind the eight ball to start this spring.  There are some great options to control tough weeds in the spring as well.  We have a couple of options that can be used with a wide variety of crops with little to no plant back restrictions.
          My favorite spring burndown herbicide is Sharpen.  Sharpen can be used on a wide variety of crops with little to no plant back restriction. Wheat, Barley, Durum, Oat, Corn, Field Pea, and Soybean can all be planted directly after a sharpen application, the only difference between crops is what rate you can apply. Soybeans are labeled to be planted after a Sharpen rate up to 1oz/ac with no delay.  If you were to run a 1.5oz/ac rate you would delay planting by 14 days which is not very long if you plan ahead.  For small grain crops and corn you can spray up to 3oz/ac and plant right behind the sprayer if you are in a time crunch.  Sharpen also has a rate dependent residual, meaning the higher rate you use you will get longer soil residual activity to keep weeds in check.  Also, the higher rates allow a larger weed spectrum to be controlled.  At higher rates Sharpen will control palmer amaranth, waterhemp, marestail, kochia, and most winter annuals.
          Sharpen needs glyphosate to control your grass weeds, an MSO like Destiny HC to get the herbicide into the leaf tissue, and a high water volume with good coverage. Here is a typical spring burndown recommendation ahead of corn or small grains:

Sharpen 3 oz/ac
Roundup Powermax 32 oz/ac
Destiny HC 1 pt/ac
Interlock 2 oz/ac
Water 15 gal/ac

          If you didn’t get any fall burndown done in 2019 and have some weeds that need to get cleaned up in the spring, give your local Allied Agronomist a call to help you plant into a weed free field in 2020.


This article is an opinion and not a base for trade decisions.  Allied Agronomy and the author are not responsible for decisions made from this article.

Read More News

Nov 01, 2020
The new Xtendflex soybean trait package can help you manage tough to control weeds like kochia and waterhemp.
Nov 01, 2020
Goss's Wilt keeps spreading in North Dakota, learn what you can do to protect your fields.
Nov 01, 2020
This article breaks down the new over the top Dicamba label restrictions for the 2021 growing season.