In today’s Almond Matters, brought to you by Valent, although bloom is right around the corner there is still time to make preemergent applications in orchards. Getting a preemergent herbicide application on the ground prior to bloom can save a substantial amount of time and money later in the season.
“Most of the pruning or winter sanitation’s done, or should have been done by this time and a lot of guys have already put out a preemergent weed control program but it’s still not too late to get that on the ground,” said Todd Burkdoll, Field Market Development Specialist for Valent USA. “Typically you want to get that out before bloom and then have some type of moisture event whether its irrigation or ideally it’d be rain – a quarter to half-inch of rain – on top of that preemergent application to activate the herbicide to get it into the soil profile where it needs to work in that top layer.”
The most cost-effective method for activating a preemergent herbicide is going to come from a rain event. With the upcoming forecast for much of California showing fairly dry conditions, growers that still need to make preemergent applications will likely need an alternative course of action. “Having moisture right after an application of a preemergent herbicide is ideal but we can’t always predict that. Even if it’s predicted it doesn’t always happen, so you need to have a plan B in effect which is typically irrigation,” said Burkdoll.
Some growers might need to mix their preemergent herbicide with some type of burndown material to take care of some of the tougher weeds that might already be coming up. Making applications at this point in the season can be delicate, which makes material selection very important. “Chateau’s a lot safer to use especially if you’re going on later into the season where you might have some bloom or bud break,” Burkdoll noted.
Listen to the segment below.