Start with a clean foundation
January 13, 2023
A strong weed control strategy can help get your crop off to the best possible start, guard against existing and emerging resistant weed threats, and ensure fields remain clean – throughout the season and well into the future.
Weeds are fierce competitors for vital resources your crop needs to thrive, such as light, water and nutrients. Research by Dr. Clarence Swanton, a professor of weed science at the University of Guelph, has shown weed competition can even lead corn and soybean plants to change their architecture.
In soybeans, for example, weed competition can result in decreased root size and nodulation, ultimately leading to reduced growth and yield.1
The losses resulting from weed competition can start early and add up quickly. Studies have found soybeans can lose from 0.5 to 2 bushels per acre every day that weeds are present in a field,2 while corn can lose up to 3.5 bushels per acre every day that weeds are present.3
So, what’s a grower to do in the face of an ever-changing weed threat to their crop?
Apply the Foundation Acre program on-farm
Foundation Acre® is a best-in-class agronomic program that contributes to a healthy, vigorous crop while helping growers manage for higher yields. Syngenta developed Foundation Acre to help corn and soybean growers formulate an effective one- or two-pass weed control system that factors in their primary target weeds and the needs of their farm.
The Foundation Acre program leverages the full line-up of industry-leading herbicides from Syngenta. Each product is crop safe and offers a flexible application window for simplicity of choice and use. These herbicides also offer long-lasting weed control, so growers can manage risk when spraying conditions are less than ideal.
Here are examples of one- and two-pass Foundation Acre programs in corn:
Putting down early residual herbicides as part of a Foundation Acre program can help limit the spread of current problem weeds, such as Canada fleabane, and also keep future threats, like resistant waterhemp and Palmer amaranth, from gaining a major foothold in fields.
GO DEEPER: Watch this video for tips to get more from your spray nozzle technology
Considerations for implementing a Foundation Acre program on your farm
- There’s a direction relationship between how much herbicide you need to achieve a clean field, and how early your crop canopy fills in. If you get the canopy closed early, it can act as a biological control to suppress weeds.
- Controlling weeds is only one part of a broader goal. Ultimately, you need to maintain plant health in order to maintain yield potential.
- If you spot weeds, you need to go in early and clean them out. If weather conditions are right, an early herbicide application can deliver season-long weed control.
- The clock is ticking – your crop can detect changes in the environment and adapt quickly. You need to be prepared to do the same.
Contact your rep to find out more about the Foundation Acre program, or learn how to apply Foundation Acre on your farm.
1 Detection of neighboring weeds alters soybean seedling roots and nodulation. (2015) Weed Science. 63: 888-900.
2 Perspectives on soybean yield losses due to weeds in North America. (2017) Weed Technology. 31: 148-154.
3 Dealing with those early weeds. (2018) Country Guide.
4 For use on glyphosate-tolerant corn only.
Performance evaluations are based on internal trials, field observations and/or public information. Data from multiple locations and years should be consulted whenever possible. Individual results may vary depending on local growing, soil, and weather conditions.
Always read and follow label directions. Maxim Quattro with Vibrance is an on-seed application of Maxim Quattro Seed Treatment fungicide and Vibrance 500 FS Seed Treatment fungicide. AAtrex®, Acuron®, Callisto®, Draco™, Fortenza®, Foundation Acre®, Halex®, Magnum®, Maxim®, Miravis®, NK®, NK® and Design, Primextra®, Vayantis®, Vibrance® and the Syngenta logo are trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company. © 2023 Syngenta.
