Dry conditions could cause some issues for some farmers in some areas of the province. (file photo/FarmnewsNOW Staff)

By Michael Joel-Hansen

Herbicide Runoff

Dry conditions could cause problems for some

Mar 26, 2019 | 4:11 PM

Seeding is not far off for farmers in the province.

With this in mind some agricultural producers may need to keep in mind the possible issue of herbicide residue. Left over residue is an issue for some parts of the province as the Ministry of Agriculture says these areas are experiencing moisture deficits.

Clark Brenzil, a provincial specialist for weed control, explained what this means for farmers.

“Any persistent herbicides that they’ve used or residual herbicides that they used are less likely to break down the way they expect them to break down,” he said.

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According to Brenzil this could lead to farmers seeding a crop which may not be well suited to the current conditions.

“It leads to surprises when producers go to plant a crop they think is tolerant and they ended up getting that crop injured,” he said.

In this case the plants are not likely to die, but farmers would see a decrease in yield at harvest time.

Brenzil added for herbicides to break down as intended there needs to be a combination of rain and heat, which is why the ministry only looks at in season rainfall when putting together its maps. The most current maps from the provincial government were put together with data collected from June 5, 2018 until Sept. 3 and from June 19 to Sept. 17 of 2018.

Currently northern parts of the province are expected to receive more moisture while southern parts of the province are ranging from moderate to extreme risk for herbicide carry over.

The government also recommends producers make sure to be in touch with manufacturers when it comes to deciding what crops to plant after using a certain herbicide.

“The manufacture knows what the relative sensitivity of each of the re-crop options are and they will be able to provide the producer with the most tolerant option,” Brenzil said.

Overall, the current situation is not likely to change regardless of what happens in terms of weather. Brenzil said some dry areas getting a lot of water could make for more issues as more residual herbicides could be freed up.

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MichaelJoel.Hansen@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @mjhskcdn