2021 Chemical Weed Control of Field
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Report of Progress 1162 2021 Chemical Weed Control for Field Crops, Pastures, Rangeland, and Noncropland Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service Selecting and Applying Herbicides Protective Clothing and Equipment Guide Pesticides kill. We wouldn’t use them if they didn’t. The problem is, chemicals that If you use pesticides, the best ways to minimize your exposure are to wear personal kill insects, diseases, and plants can cause illness in human beings in larger doses. protective equipment and follow safe mixing, loading, application, and disposal Chemicals may not look all that harmful, but overexposure can be as dangerous as procedures. Your risk of harmful health effects from pesticide exposure depends on putting your arm into a hay baler. The damage may take longer to show up, which is two things: (1) the toxicity of the chemical and (2) how much of it you are exposed what makes pesticide safety different from tractor or combine safety. Very few to. The National Agricultural Chemicals Association uses the formula: people die of acute pesticide poisoning, but it is possible to end up in a hospital Risk = Toxicity + Exposure. emergency room because of a severe reaction that may suddenly occur after years of repeated exposure to a particular chemical. You can be exposed to chemicals in three ways. Ingestion, or swallowing, is the most common cause of acute poisonings. Inhalation, or breathing, is the most toxic of Determining precisely the number of people who may suffer chronic, irreversible the ways that you can be exposed to pesticides because anything absorbed by the effects from pesticide exposure is impossible. These effects may include cancer, birth lungs goes directly into the bloodstream. Dermal absorption, or skin contact, is the defects, and some types of nervous system disorders. Although cause and effect links route through which farmers get most of their exposure to pesticides. between particular substances and cancer or birth defects are difficult to confirm, the sensible course of action is to give your health and that of your family the benefit To avoid pesticide exposure, don’t eat, drink, smoke, or go to the bathroom while of the doubt. Play it safe. working with pesticides—not until you have washed your face and hands thoroughly with detergent and water. Wear personal protective equipment. Hat Respirator Hats, especially wide-brimmed ones, help keep pesticide splashes To prevent inhalation of pesticides, wear a chemical cartridge or off your scalp, neck, forehead, and ears, all of which absorb canister respirator equipped with cartridges specially pesticides rapidly. The hat should be plastic with a plastic formulated to filter out pesticides. Dust masks are not headband. A regular seed cap or an absorbent headband, such effective. Chemical filters must be replaced every 8 hours as elastic or leather, will absorb pesticides and recontaminate of normal use, more frequently if you are working in high you every time you wear it. humidity or breathing heavily. Cartridge respirators can cost less than $25, and the replacement filters less than $15 a pair. Alternatively, you Goggles or Full Face Shield can use a full-face–shielded canister respirator. Canister filters are more Get chemical splash goggles or a full face shield to protect your expensive but last longer. eyes from splashing. Never wear contact lenses when working with chemicals. Respirators should be worn during mixing and loading of any pesticide and during application of highly toxic (“Danger Clothes – Poison”) pesticides. Wear denim overalls and a If you smell pesticide when you put on the respirator, long-sleeved work shirt. Wear throw the filters away, even if they are brand new. Then coveralls over these clothes. wash the respirator thoroughly with detergent and water, Disposable garments are also because it could be contaminated. Insert new filters and available. start over. Losing a few dollars is better than risking contamination. Your life is not worth the gamble. Gloves The hands and forearms are For grain silo fumigation or other oxygen-poor contaminated by pesticides more environments, you must have a supplied-air respirator or often than any other part of the self-contained breathing apparatus. body. That’s why you need chemical-resistant gloves, Rubber Apron preferably ones that extend at The area of the body that absorbs least halfway to your elbow. Avoid leather gloves because leather pesticides the most rapidly is not the absorbs pesticides and is impossible to decontaminate. palm of the hand, nor even your scalp or forehead, but the scrotum. For Use unlined gloves made of neoprene, nitrile, or natural rubber. instance, parathion shows 11.8% Latex does not protect against concentrated chemicals. Avoid gloves with absorption into the palm and 36.3% lining, because the lining can absorb the pesticide and re-expose you every absorption into the forehead but is time you use them. Unless you are working overhead, such as when absorbed 100% by the scrotum if it spraying fruit trees, wear your sleeves outside the gloves. comes into contact with it! At this rate, you suffer the same effect as if parathion Check gloves for leaks before you use them by filling them with water and were injected directly into your blood- squeezing. Wash them with water and detergent as soon as you’re done. stream. This is why a rubber apron is Wash the outsides while you still have them on, then take them off and turn critical. You may prefer to use disposable them inside out to wash the insides. Tyvek coveralls. NOTE: All pesticide protective clothing should be used only for pesticide protection, not Rubber Boots for rain protection or any other purposes. Wash every piece of protective These should be neoprene, nitrile, or equipment after every use, using heavy-duty liquid detergent and hot water, natural rubber. Leather absorbs and rinse well. pesticides! Wear boots, not overshoes, because pesticide can get inside overshoes and contaminate your shoes. Wear pant cuffs on the outside of the boots. B 2021 Chemical Weed Control for Field Crops, Pastures, Rangeland, and Noncropland S.R. Lancaster, W.H. Fick, R.S. Currie, and V. Kumar1 Contents Herbicides for: 112 Conservation Reserve Program 2 Introduction (Native Grasses) 2 Proper Use of Herbicides 115 Bermudagrass 3 Factors Affecting Chemical Weed Control 117 Weed and Brush Control Practices 4 Herbicide Application for Pasture and Rangeland 9 Cleaning Spray Equipment 118 Grazing Restrictions for Certain Range and Pasture Herbicides 10 Protect Your Water Supply 119 Cool-Season Pastures 10 Herbicide Terms and Definitions 125 Rangeland Weeds 12 Names, Toxicities, and Persistence of Herbicides in/on Soils 129 Brush and Trees on Rangeland 15 Approximate 2021 Retail Costs 134 Noncropland of Herbicides, Harvest Aids, and Adjuvants 137 Noxious Weeds 18 Herbicide Premixes 22 Glyphosate Product Comparisons Herbicides and harvest aids for: 24 Corn 48 Grain Sorghum 60 Soybean Read The Label 79 Sunflower Each herbicide used on raw agricultural products must be registered and must have a residue tolerance established by the Registration 82 Winter Wheat Division, Environmental Protection Agency. Check the label and select only herbicides that may be used legally. 96 Spring-Seeded Oat 99 Alfalfa 1 104 Cotton Extension Specialist-Weed Science, Extension Specialist-Range and Pasture Management, Department of Agronomy; Research Weed Scientist, Southwest Research-Extension Center, Garden City; and Research Weed Scientist, Agricultural Research Center - Hays; Kansas State 111 Canola University, Manhattan, KS 66506. 1 6. Carrier – Water is the most commonly used carrier for herbicides. Introduction Liquid fertilizers can be used as carriers for most soil-applied herbi- cides and a few foliar-applied herbicides. Before mixing an herbicide To control weeds effectively, select control methods carefully and use with a liquid fertilizer (as recommended on some herbicide labels), them properly. Chemicals, tillage, crop competition, cropping rotation, check the compatibility of the herbicide with the carrier. Check by mowing, and fire are alternative weed control methods that may be used mixing a small amount of the herbicide and carrier in the approxi- alone or in combination. Available time, labor, equipment, and other mate proportion to be used in the field. Shake or agitate the mixture costs as well as types of weeds and areas infested need to be considered vigorously. Allow it to stand for 5 minutes. If an initial separation when planning a weed control program. or a settling out occurs in the herbicide-fertilizer mixture but To increase efficiency of crop production, use weed control practices disappears after vigorous shaking, the chemicals can be used in the in conjunction with other crop and soil management practices such as same spray tank, if you maintain adequate agitation while spraying. planting high-quality seed, planting at the optimum rate and date, and If a precipitate forms, the mixture flakes, or the two chemicals will maintaining optimum soil fertility. not stay mixed when agitated, the materials should not be mixed together in the same spray tank. This publication provides suggestions for chemical weed control in several major crops. For crops not listed, consult your local K-State 7. Drift – Minimize drift and possible damage to susceptible plants Research and Extension agricultural agent.1 by applying chemicals when the wind is light (less than 10 mph). Check wind direction to avoid drift toward susceptible crops. Smoke can be a valuable tool to assist in determining wind charac- Proper Use of Herbicides teristics and in checking for the presence of temperature inversions. Refer to the product label for specific environmental precautions. 1. Selection – Choice of an herbicide depends on the crop being grown, expected weed infestation, soil type, desired duration of 8. 2,4-D, Dicamba, and Other Auxin Herbicides – control, crop use, crop sequence, and cost.