COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio crop growers looking to find answers on how to deal with herbicide resistance issues will have the chance to speak with Ohio State University Extension experts during a series of workshops designed to help farmers who are facing increasingly difficult weed control scenarios.
Farmers across the state are continuing to experience glyphosate-resistant marestail as a key weed problem, said Mark Loux, an OSU Extension weed specialist. And growing concerns about glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth, which is significantly impacting growers in Southern states, are among the questions Ohio farmers are now asking, he said.
“Farmers are seeing pictures of entire fields being mowed down in the South because of Palmer amaranth,” he said. “While we don’t have anything as extreme as that happening here, we want to make sure we don’t have similar issues like that in the future.”
While traditionally found in the southwestern portions of Ohio, Loux said resistant populations of marestail are now found throughout the state.
“Marestail is the most abundant herbicide-resistant weed we have in Ohio,” he said.
“Given the very warm weather we’ve had thus far this winter, it may grow more vigorously into the spring, making it harder to kill.”
This while Palmer amaranth is continuing its move north, with at least one population of Palmer amaranth recently confirmed in southern Illinois, according to the University of Illinois.
The workshops, which are sponsored by the Ohio AgriBusiness Association (OABA) and the Ohio Soybean Association (OSA), will be held Feb. 28 and 29, and March 1. The workshops will feature presentations by Loux and Tony Dobbels, also an OSU Extension weed specialist. Representatives from Monsanto will also be there to sit on a panel discussion with other experts to answer questions from farmers, Loux said.
The free workshops are from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and will be followed by a lunch. The dates and locations are as follows:
- Northeast Ohio – Feb. 28 at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster.
- Central and Southern Ohio – Feb. 29 at the Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Road, Columbus.
- Western and Northwest Ohio - March 1 at the Centre, 601 North Main St., Bluffton.
Participants can sign up for the workshops at OABA’s website at http://www.oaba.net.