Abnormally wet weather last year can
be blamed for a shallow root system in some spring wheat fields that resulted in root uptake of the wild oat herbicide Achieve, which caused plant stress in some cases, say officials with Zeneca, maker of the wild oat
herbicide.Wet weather that began in the fall of 1998 and resumed again in the spring of 1999 resulted in poor seeding and germination conditions. Subsequently, spring wheat crops in some areas developed
shallow, weak root systems.
"Cool conditions and saturated soils also meant that Achieve broke down much more slowly than normal. Achieve breaking down more slowly, and root systems developing in the top inch
of soil, caused an interaction between Achieve and the plant's roots, such that a small amount of the product was taken into the plant through the root," explains Dan Lindgren, Zeneca representative. "This
phenomena has been recreated in greenhouse work but is very difficult to do, as it requires several abnormal things to happen all in the same short period of time."
Lindgren says the absence of any one of those
factors will result in the same stable crop safety that has been observed with Achieve throughout the world over the last decade of its use.
"The fall of 1999 was fairly dry with below normal
precipitation. Couple this with a relatively snow free winter and the spring is shaping up to be an excellent opportunity for Achieve to perform to the levels that have been expected in the farm community,"
Lindgren says.
Producers can get free membership in the Minnesota Association of Wheat Growers or the North Dakota Grain Growers Association with a rebate on a qualifying purchase of Achieve. For more
information, contact the MAWG at 1-800-242-6118, the NDGGA at 1-800-932-8822, or a Zeneca representative.
