Weed School

 The University of Idaho College of Agricultural and Life Sciences welcomes visitors to tour its weed research tomorrow at the Aberdeen Research and Extension Center and June 17 at the Kimberly Research and Extension Center. Both tours are free, scheduled for 8:30 to noon, and include a sponsored lunch.

 Don Morishita, University of Idaho Extension weed scientist and superintendent of the Kimberly Research and Extension Center explained that “They’re showing a wide variety of weed-control treatments in various crops so that participants can compare side-by-side and see for themselves which herbicides or herbicide combinations will work best for them,” The intent is to help farmers make better decisions about the herbicides they use.”

At Aberdeen, potato weed-control tour participants will see trials of herbicide tolerance in newly released varieties and of herbicide effectiveness, including experimental herbicides and tank mixtures. They will also observe plant-back studies and research into the effects of reservoir tillage on herbicide movement.

 Dr. Morishita thinks that herbicide science is improving. “I think that overall yes, I think the herbicides used today tend to be much more effective, they’re used at lower use rates so there’s less being applied to a field, and most of these herbicides have shorter residual so they don’t persist in the soil.”