Remove Palmer amaranth if Possible

Tim Hammerich

News Reporter

Well the growing season may be coming to an end for many crops, but it’s never too late to get rid of a troublesome weed like palmer amaranth.

Steve Li is an extension weed scientist and assistant professor at Auburn University.

Li… “If feasible, growers should still at least clean up the field a little bit: cut the Palmer (amaranth) out if they can.”

Li says if the idea of removing all of the palmer weeds is daunting, you can focus on just the female plants.

Li… “Palmer is a dioecious plant, which means there are male and the female clients. They look the same, but when you look at a seed head, the female plants have sticks, which means they are sticky and you cannot use your hand to touch or rub them at all. Versus the male seed head is very soft. At least growers can try to get the big female plants out of the field. You know just cut off the seed head. So you reduce the amount of Palmer seeds that will go back into the soil for next crop.”

In the last 15 years palmer has developed resistance to glyphosate, causing it to spread with limited control options. Every little bit helps to try to reduce the spread of this weed.