Herbicide issues with Xerpha?

Herbicide issues with Xerpha?

Farm and Ranch April 27, 2010 Reports of herbicide damage to Washington State University’s new soft white winter wheat Xerpha have some chemical company representatives recommending holding off on the use of certain products until more is known.

Products specifically mentioned in an email forwarded by Washington State University Extension were Osprey and Olympus from Bayer CropScience and PowerFlex from Dow AgroSciences. All are ALS inhibitor herbicides. But Northwest Ag Info Net has been told some Xerpha even showed crop injury from 2-4-D. So there are questions as whether it is the wheat variety, particular herbicides, application issues, or the ups and downs of this spring’s weather.

Meanwhile, U.S. farmers continue to make rapid progress in planting this year’s spring wheat crop.

Rippey: “We have 43% of the crop in the ground by April 25th. Well ahead of the five year average pace.”

USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey. That five year average pace for now is 27 percent. Last year at this time only 14 percent of the spring wheat had been planted. Spring wheat emergence at nine percent is just a few points ahead of average. Spring wheat planting is about wrapped up in Oregon, 86 percent complete in Washington and has reached the half-way mark in Idaho.

Washington has planted 70 percent of its potato crop, ten points above average while in Idaho seeding is lagging with just nine percent of the spuds sown compared to the five year average for now of 17 percent.

I’m Bob Hoff and that’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on Northwest Ag Info Net.

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