University of Missouri Extension’s weed science team is working on ways to understand and eradicate the millions of weed seed buried in every acre of United States cropland, especially seeds of highly invasive, herbicide-resistant weeds like waterhemp and Palmer amaranth.
Only 5% to 10% of these buried seeds germinate and emerge each year, but that small percentage can mean big yield losses, said Kevin Bradley, head of the Mizzou Weed Science team. Although most weed scientists talk about reducing the weed seed bank of croplands, very little information actually exists about the density and diversity of weed seeds in these areas, Bradley said.
For more information, see Bradley’s Waterhemp Fact Sheet at https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/mx1123.
PHOTO: Waterhemp control with dicamba. (iStock-#1162443906 │ JJ Gouin)
