IMPORTANCE OF FALL CHEMICAL TREATMENT

         I recently spent a couple of days participating in tours designed for growers sponsored by private and public entities.  Of all the things that I saw and heard, the following was the most striking.  I'll be interested in the harvest data on this plot of spring wheat.  We all have experienced the anxiety of putting out chemical on ground that looks bare of anything growing.
         This pic demonstrates the importance of a fall chemical application when your intention is to plant a spring crop.  In this case the crop is a spring cereal.  It is a little difficult to visualize, but look at the pant line on the researcher.  The right side is about knee high.  The left side is about mid thigh.  There were no specifics given to compare the the two sides; however, the right side of the plot looked stunted, and thinner compared to the left side.   If the right side had been a field, the grower may not notice there being a problem.  Standing alone, the right side doesn't look that bad, maybe a little thin. The only difference in the treatment of this plot was that the right side was missed when the fall application of glyphosate was applied.  The researcher stated that there was very little material growing on the plot last fall.  Each side of the plot had it's spring application of glyphosate three weeks prior to seeding.  The entire plot was seeded at the same time, and all subsequent operations were done consistent across the entire plot.  The first indication that something was different was the delay in crop emergence on the right side.  Rhizoctonia was discovered to be the culprit.  The green bridge effect raises it's ugly head even when there doesn't appear to be any green.

So the lesson is:  DON'T MISS THE FALL APPLICATION OF GLYPHOSATE --- even though it appears there is nothing for glyphosate to act on.