Adoption of Best Management Practices for Herbicide-Resistant Weeds in Midsouthern United States Cotton, Rice, and Soybean

Abstract

In fall 2011, cotton and soybean consultants from Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee were surveyed through direct mail and on-farm visits, and rice consultants from Arkansas and Mississippi were surveyed through direct mail to assess the importance and level of implementation of herbicide resistance best management practices (HR-BMPs) for herbicide-resistant weeds. Proper herbicide timing, clean start with no weeds at planting, application of multiple effective herbicide modes of action, use of full labeled herbicide rates, and prevention of crop weed seed production with importance rating of ≥ 4.6 out of 5.0 were perceived as the most important HR-BMPs in all crops. Purchase of certified rice seed was on 90% of scouted hectares. In contrast, least important HR-BMPs as perceived by consultants with importance ratings of ≤ 4.0 in cotton, ≤ 3.7 in rice, and ≤ 3.8 in soybean were cultural practices such as manual removal of weeds; tillage including disking, cultivation, or deep tillage; narrow (≤ 50 cm)-row crops, cover crops, and altered planting dates. Narrow crop rows and cover crops in cotton; altered planting dates in cotton and soybean; and cleaning of farm equipment and manual weeding in rice and soybean is currently employed on ≤ 20% of scouted hectares. Extra costs, time constraints, adverse weather conditions, lack of labor and equipment, profitability, herbicide-related concerns, and complacency were perceived as key obstacles for adoption of most HR-BMPs. With limited adoption of most cultural practices that reduce risks of herbicide-resistant weeds, there are opportunities to educate growers concerning the proactive need and long-term benefits of adopting HR-BMPs to ensure sustainable weed management and profitable crop production.