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Without alternatives, atrazine elimination would severely compromise sweet corn production
United States
May 13, 2010
Source: Weed Technology
Sweet corn growers will lose their principal method of weed control and be faced with increased expenses if use of the herbicide atrazine is eliminated as a result of a comprehensive re-evaluation being carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Although atrazine has been registered for use in the United States since 1958 and is a primary mechanism of weed control in all types of corn, ongoing controversy about the herbicide has prompted the EPA to conduct a reassessment.
In the article “Significance of Atrazine in Sweet Corn Weed Management Systems,” researchers have, for the first time, documented the tools used to control weeds in sweet corn and have determined that atrazine is applied to two-thirds of the fields studied. Atrazine is already known to play a central role in field corn weed management systems. This study shows that the herbicide is even more important in sweet corn.
Loss of atrazine would have serious consequences, especially to growers whose fields are particularly weedy and to growers moving away from soil cultivation. Moreover, other herbicides registered in sweet corn perform better when applied with atrazine. One alternative, mesotrione, is both more expensive and less effective. Subsequent production cost increases would invariably be passed on to consumers, whose demand for sweet corn has made it one of the most popular crops in the United States.
Atrazine is a significant component of sweet corn weed management. Presently, economically viable alternatives to replace atrazine are not well developed or demonstrated.
Article
Significance of Atrazine in Sweet Corn Weed Management Systems
Martin M. Williams II, Chris M. Boerboom, and Tom L. Rabaey
Weed Technology, 24, April–June 2010
http://www2.allenpress.com/pdf/wete-24-02-139-142.pdf
ABSTRACT
Weed management systems used by sweet corn growers, including the role of atrazine, are poorly characterized. Management records of 175 fields throughout the major sweet corn production areas of the Midwest were surveyed from 2005 to 2007. Seventy-four percent of sweet corn fields in the Midwest were grown in rotation with soybean or corn. Interrow cultivation was used on 48% of fields, and atrazine use was higher in those fields without interrow cultivation. A majority of fields (54%) received both PRE and POST herbicide applications. Mesotrione was applied below the registered use rate in two-thirds of the fields in which it was used POST. Atrazine rates in sweet corn were highest when the preceding crops were other vegetables, compared to preceding crops of soybean or corn. Selective herbicides are used extensively in
U.S. sweet corn production, accounting for 94% of total weed management expenditures which average $123/ha. Growers treated 66% of fields with one or more applications of atrazine at an average total use rate of 1.35 kg ai/ha. The estimated annual net cost to replace atrazine in U.S. sweet corn production with the broad spectrum broadleaf herbicide, mesotrione, is $9.2 million.
Weed Technology presents (1) original research on weed/crop management systems, herbicides, weed resistance to herbicides, and weed biology; (2) reports of new weed problems, weed-related surveys, and new technologies for weed management; and (3) special articles emphasizing technology transfer to improve weed control. The journal is a publication of the Weed Science Society of America. To learn more about the society, please visit: http://www.wssa.net/.
More news from: Weed Science Society of America (WSSA)
Website: http://www.wssa.net Published: May 13, 2010 |
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