Controlling winter annual broadleaf weeds in wheat
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The main winter annual broadleaf weeds in wheat in Kansas are the mustard species and henbit. These species primarily germinate in the fall or early winter, overwinter, then flower in the spring.
With a couple of exceptions, the winter annual broadleaf weeds can be controlled relatively easily with the array of herbicide options available for wheat. The exceptions are:
* When there are ALS-resistant populations of bushy wallflower (treacle mustard) and flixweed (tansy mustard)
* When henbit and mustards are allowed to grow too late in the spring before control
ALS-resistant populations of bushy wallflower and flixweed
Bushy wallflower (treacle mustard) and flixweed (tansy mustard) populations resistant to ALS-inhibiting herbicides (such as Finesse, Glean, Ally, Express, Affinity, Amber, Olympus, PowerFlex HL, or Beyond) have been confirmed in central Kansas in recent years. This class of herbicides has been around for many years and has historically provided excellent control of mustard species in general. A complete failure to control one of the mustard species with an ALS-inhibiting herbicide is probably a pretty good indication that an ALS-resistant population has developed.
ALS-resistant bushy wallflower was first confirmed in Marion county in 2005, and based on field reports, seems to be fairly common in Marion, Dickinson, and Saline counties, but also may be present elsewhere. It was highly resistant to all ALS-inhibiting herbicides evaluated.
ALS-resistant flixweed was first confirmed from Saline County in 2007. ALS-resistant flixweed still seems to be confined to that general area, but certainly could be present elsewhere. Some ALS-inhibiting herbicides still had some activity on the resistant biotype, but history tells us that if we switched to another ALS-herbicide, it wouldn’t be long until we had resistance to those products as well.
ALS-resistant mustard populations likely developed in continuous wheat fields where either Glean or Finesse was routinely applied in combination with a topdress fertilizer application and in the absence of a tank-mix partner such as 2,4-D or MCPA.
Fortunately, the ALS-resistant mustards can still be controlled with a timely application of products that contain 2,4-D, MCPA, or Huskie. These products can be tank-mixed with ALS herbicides or used as an alternative to ALS herbicides. MCPA and Huskie can be safely applied to wheat in the fall through spring after the wheat has 2 leaves. However, 2,4-D should not be applied until wheat is fully tillered, which generally does not occur until sometime in spring.
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