07/12/05 Control of tall weeds in sugarbeets

Tall weeds towering over late-season sugarbeets have long been a frustration to Idaho`s growers. For the fourth year in a row, University of Idaho weed scientist Don Morishita is testing an innovative application method that may help growers protect their crops from kochia, common lambsquarters and pigweed. Morishita`s research-sized wiper-applicator is a carpeted, continually turning tube that he pulls through the field behind a tractor. A mixture of Roundup and foaming agent from the carpeted tube is applied to the tops of the targeted weeds. MORISHITA "Basically a lather that's about as thick as shaving cream as so as you go through the field its just leaving these little blobs of white foam on the plant. We're looking at using a 25 percent concentration, a 37 and a half percent and a 50 percent concentration. It looks like this lowest concentration works as well as a higher concentration, actually get by with a little less crop injury." Morishita is also evaluating over-the-top mowing at the request of several innovative growers who have already given it a try. Using a gas-powered hedge trimmer his once-mowed plots produced 21 tons of sugar per acre compared with 13 tons for the check plots and 24 tons for hand-weeded plots. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott