The Iowa Stater
November 2000
If looks could kill ...
soybeans would still be OK
When soybean growers see injury to their crops after applying herbicides, many automatically believe their yields will take a hit. Not so, says Mike Owen, ISU agronomy professor. In experiments across Iowa and Illinois over the last three years, researchers found early-season herbicide injury doesn't translate into loss of yield."Ideally, we'd like to see no injury at all," he said. "But our results indicate the benefit from controlling weeds greatly outweighs any risks from herbicide injury."
Owen led a 30-member research team that evaluated post-emergence herbicides for crop injury and weed control. At harvest time, herbicide injury translated into a minimal effect on yield in less than 3 percent of the fields.
"If you reduce herbicide rates, or avoid a herbicide application due to concerns about injury, you may have nice-looking soybeans, but there won't be many of them," Owen said.