New weed control technology to be tested in Louisiana

weed seed control
Locally designed chaff line chute working in Delaware — photo by Claudio Rubione, GROW.

The Louisiana Soybean Grain Research and Promotion Board awarded a grant to Louisiana State University weed scientist Lauren Lazaro to find ways of controlling weeds at harvest through a tactic called harvest weed weed control.

Lazaro’s soybean board grant focuses on one form of HWSC called chaff lining. An additional HWSC method is the use of impact mills.

“Now there’s another level of harvest weed seed control that uses an impact mill that goes into the rear of the combine that pulverizes the chaff material and weed seed that comes through it,” she says. “It essentially throws the material around the mill and shoots it out, including the broken-up weed seed.”

Lazaro said the LSU AgCenter will be getting two impact mills next year, “so we will be one of the first in the Southern U.S. to really have this equipment to test in various cropping systems through a multi-state, nationwide trial.”

She said she’s excited that harvest weed seed control is coming to Louisiana “and hopefully these different tactics, which can be fit to a farmer’s needs, will provide an additional weed management tool to help reduce weed pressures.”

The LSU AgCenter contributed this article.

Related Articles

E-News Sign Up

Connect with Soybean South