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Syngenta, university researcher advocate holistic approach to maximize yield potential and minimize future obstacles


The "10 Commandments" of weed management provide a comprehensive framework for planning

GREENSBORO, NC, USA, Feb. 17, 2021 – For every grower, maximizing yield to increase potential return on investment is the ultimate goal. As farmers know, there are many factors affecting their yields that require constant monitoring and action throughout the year. Syngenta sat down with Stevan Knezevic, Ph.D., weed management specialist at the University of Nebraska, to discuss his “10 Commandments” of weed management that growers can reference to make sure all their bases are covered this coming season.

According to Knezevic, his "10 Commandments" are as follows:
  • Commandment 1: Know your weeds and understand their lifecycles and biologies. This is the foundation for all of the commandments. "A full understanding of the weeds in your region and how they may interact with your crops is an important step in managing an efficient and successful operation," said Knezevic.
  • Commandment 2: Rotate your crops. "Crop rotation is a key component in an effective weed resistance management strategy," said Mark Kitt, corn herbicide technical product lead for Syngenta. "It will extend the range of available herbicides and agronomic practices."
  • Commandment 3: Rotate your herbicide sites of action. "By having extra sites of action, you are widening the spectrum of weed control," said Knezevic. 
  • Commandment 4: Use premixes with multiple effective sites of action. "Within the Syngenta portfolio, Acuron® corn herbicide is a great example," said Kitt. "It provides protection through its four active ingredients, including the Syngenta-exclusive bicyclopyrone, and three effective sites of action." This formulation provides powerful weed management that leads to higher yield potential — 5 to 15 more bushels an acre than any other corn herbicide.*
  • Commandment 5: Use full labeled rates of herbicides. "Full label rates will provide a full length of residual activity that should cover the critical period of weed control," said Knezevic. "By reducing the label rate, you’re in danger of not killing the weed, but only crippling it. A surviving weed that is growing after a herbicide application has a chance to potentially produce herbicide-resistant offspring."
  • Commandment 6: Scout your fields. "Go out and scout those fields," says Knezevic. "Look for survivors, and look for regrowth because that regrowth can most likely carry a resistance gene, so you will have problems next year."
  • Commandment 7: Apply post-emergent applications, ideally before new weed growth is discovered. Overlapping residuals can help prevent these weed escapes.
    "Halex® GT herbicide is the perfect product to use post-emergence to provide that overlapping residual and post-emergence management when applied in a system where a foundation rate of a preemergence herbicide is used," Kitt said.
  • Commandment 8: Use cultural practices to manage weeds, and don’t overlook your field borders. "This is where employing sound agronomic practices will prove to be especially beneficial, including tillage and crop rotation," said Knezevic. "Any uncontrolled weeds will produce seeds. If you don’t control them well and let them drop seeds, you’re going to fight them for at least three to five more years into the future."
  • Commandment 9: Use clean equipment, especially during harvest, to manage weed seed. "Over the last 10 years or so, we have seen a rapid spread of glyphosate-resistant waterhemp and Palmer amaranth, which were not spread by weeds, animals or wind. They were spread by combines during harvest," cautioned Knezevic.
  • Commandment 10: Know the cost of poor weed management. "The culmination of the commandments is that in managing cost versus yield, understand that it is much more expensive if you spend less money and do not kill the weeds," concluded Knezevic. "A general rule of thumb is that for every stage of delayed weed control, there is a 2% loss of potential yield."
Collaborating with leading university researchers and sharing information are ways Syngenta works to help local agronomists and their growers combat the unique weed pressure they face each season. "It all starts with solid agronomics," Kitt said. "We want to provide our retailer partners and growers with the knowledge and tools they need to effectively manage their top weed pressures so they can maximize their yield potential next season and for many seasons to come."

When you start with agronomics and your end profitability goal in mind, you can better assess what practices and products will get you there. Before you commit to a season-long “deal” that may limit your choices, do some math and see how everything pencils out — because better yield is the better deal. To calculate how much more revenue potential you can find with Acuron, visit the Revenue Calculator. Join the conversation online — connect with Syngenta at Syngenta-us.com/social.

About Syngenta 
Syngenta is one of the world’s leading agriculture companies. Our ambition is to help safely feed the world while taking care of the planet. We aim to improve the sustainability, quality and safety of agriculture with world class science and innovative crop solutions. Our technologies enable millions of farmers around the world to make better use of limited agricultural resources. With 28,000 people in more than 90 countries we are working to transform how crops are grown. Through partnerships, collaboration and The Good Growth Plan we are committed to improving farm productivity, rescuing land from degradation, enhancing biodiversity and revitalizing rural communities. To learn more visit www.syngenta.com and www.goodgrowthplan.com. Follow us on X at www.twitter.com/Syngenta and www.twitter.com/SyngentaUS.

Media Contacts:
David Piñon
336-632-7504
david.pinon@syngenta.com 

Eric Groover
919-870-5718
egroover@gscommunications.com

Web Resources:
Acuron
Halex GT
Revenue Calculator
Know More, Grow More
Syngenta Newsroom
Syngenta U.S.
Thrive

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This document may contain forward-looking statements, which can be identified by terminology such as ‘expect’, ‘would’, ‘will’, ‘potential’, ‘plans’, ‘prospects’, ‘estimated’, ‘aiming’, ‘on track’ and similar expressions. Such statements may be subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from these statements. For Syngenta, such risks and uncertainties include risks relating to legal proceedings, regulatory approvals, new product development, increasing competition, customer credit risk, general economic and market conditions, compliance and remediation, intellectual property rights, implementation of organizational changes, impairment of intangible assets, consumer perceptions of genetically modified crops and organisms or crop protection chemicals, climatic variations, fluctuations in exchange rates and/or commodity prices, single source supply arrangements, political uncertainty, natural disasters, and breaches of data security or other disruptions of information technology. Syngenta assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changed assumptions or other factors.

*When applied preemergence and at full label rates. Acuron yield advantage range based on 2016 Syngenta and university replicated trials comparing Acuron to Corvus®, Resicore®, SureStart® II and Verdict®. For more information on Acuron versus an individual product, ask your Syngenta representative.

Performance assessments are based upon results or analysis of public information, field observations and/or internal Syngenta evaluations. Trials reflect treatment rates commonly recommended in the marketplace.

©2021 Syngenta. Syngenta 410 Swing Road Greensboro, NC, 27409. Important: Always read and follow label instructions. Some products may not be registered for sale or use in all states or counties. Please check with your local extension service to ensure registration status. Acuron is a Restricted Use Pesticide. Acuron®, Halex® and the Syngenta logo are registered trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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