Achieve Full Yield Potential And Weed Control With Liberty Link Technology
By Nora Schultz, Sales Agronomist, CCA
For those growers with glyphosate resistance and are looking for a broad spectrum replacement, look no further than Liberty herbicide.
Liberty (glufosinate) is the only non-selective herbicide with no known resistance. he trait can be found in U.S. crops such as soybeans, corn, cotton and canola. Liberty has a unique mode of action (how the herbicide effects the plant), and is the only herbicide listed in Group 10. Bringing Liberty Link technology to your farm can give you an edge over tough to control weeds like waterhemp, giant ragweed, marestail and palmer amaranth. Populations of these weeds can significantly reduce yields. According to Bayer Crop Science, a strong population of waterhemp can reduce a yield up to 44%. In addition, research suggests palmer amaranth can cause up to a 79% reduction. As you can see from the plot data, yields from Liberty Link soybeans show no sign of a yield drag. Yields are on par with yields from Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans. Adding Liberty Link trait technology can bring outstanding yields and the weed control you’re looking for to your fields.
Tips for managing Liberty Herbicide Technology
It is important to remember that no herbicide is totally immune from weed resistance developing. Managing herbicide technology correctly can greatly reduce the likelyhood of resistance and extend the useful life of that herbicide. Follow these simple tips when bringing Liberty to your farm.
- Start clean – Always start the season with a weed free field. Use any combination of tillage or burndown applications but always use an effective residual pre-plant or pre-emerge herbicide.
- Target weeds small – target weeds that are 3” or smaller. The weeds must be smaller than a pop can!
- Go for optimum coverage – Use the correct water volumes, droplet size, full rates, and AMS. As a contact herbicide, it is extremely important to use a minimum of 15 gallons of water per acre for complete coverage.
- Overlap residuals – Liberty has no soil activity. Therefore, it is important to tank mix with a residual herbicide to control late emerging weeds.
*Always read and follow label instructions.