Production Blog

Changing crop input programs can be a real brain teaser. Fortunately, there are some free tools to help sort through the management maze.

GROW's (Getting Rid of Weeds) Weed Management Planner shows the primary crop and weed tactics available to farmers (both chemical and non-chemical) and how each one affects dozens of individual weed species.

The free charts are available for limited print orders or you can download them from the website https://growiwm.org/….

Charts are separated into pre-plant options and post-plant options. Users can locate their problem weed along the top axis and quickly scan through the efficacy ratings of a long list of management options such as cover crop use, fertility practices, tillage, planting dates, harvest weed control and chemical use. The charts do assume weed control is done in a timely manner or when weeds are no more than 3 to 5 inches tall. The planner is relevant to most row-crop farmers across the eastern and midwestern states.

BT TRAIT TABLE UPDATE

Many corn hybrids planted contain transgenic traits for insect management, but there is an alphabet soup of strategies. The Handy Bt Trait Table provides a list of trait names of Bt present in all commercialized corn in the U.S. It presents the trade names for traits, Bt event, protein(s) expressed, targeted insects and herbicide traits.

The Bt trait chart was created and is updated annually by Michigan State University entomologist Chris DiFonzo and Texas A&M entomologist Pat Porter. The chart has recently been updated for 2025.

The chart makes it easier to understand and compare company seed catalogs and bag tags. Trait packages are listed alphabetically, rather than by company name, to negotiate name changes and mergers among seed companies. Trait providers license these protective traits to other seed companies. A separate checklist also shows the specific traits stacked to create trait packages.

In a recent update, the authors of this trait table note that Bt resistance is one of the most important issues facing farmers planting Bt hybrids. "Problems continue to increase in regions where field failures were already found, and new cases of resistance are reported every season," the scientists noted.

The Bt Trait Table also includes a column listing the insect species for which resistance has occurred. The Bt Trait Table is a national document and resistance problems may be local, regional (as in corn rootworm) or widespread (as in western bean cutworm). The scientists also offer a list of Bt resistance citations to document resistance statements.

To download the current table, go to: https://www.texasinsects.org/…

Citations for resistance information: https://www.texasinsects.org/…

Pamela Smith can be reached at pamela.smith@dtn.com

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