09/05/06 Battling weeds in a potato field

They didn't have to put the 'untreated' sign on the potato field in Wilder. Weeds and grass were as thick as the potato plants. Next to that plot, BASF showed growers what a treated field looked like and the difference was dramatic. BASF's Jim Vandecoevering offers Idaho growers two herbicide options. VANDECOEVERING "The first of which is Outlook herbicide. It controls weeds as they germinate in the soil so the product has to be applied prior to the potatoes emerging as well as the weeds of course to get weed control. Outlook is a very good hairy nightshade product which is a very bad weed across a number of areas across Idaho as well as the US and growers are finding great utility and great control of hairy nightshade with Outlook." The other BASF herbicide for potatoes is Prowl H2O. This is a new formulation of Prowl and as you might guess by the name it's a water based product. VANDECOEVERING "Along with that new formulation we see some benefits in the field such as it doesn't tie up on residue on the surface of the soil, its available in the soil where it's needed for weed control. In addition to that it doesn't stain, it doesn't have an odor." Cost for Prowl H2O or Outlook is competitive with other products and it has utility in Idaho, the Northwest and across the nation. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott