Dec 7, 2018
Dormant treatment tackles troublesome weeds

{Sponsored} Tackling your toughest weeds during the dormant season enables you to start the season with a clean orchard floor and can increase your farm’s profitability.

Fifth-generation farmer Craig McDowell of Chesnee, South Carolina, was already a believer in a dormant weed control system before Pindar® GT herbicide entered the market.

Craig McDowellAnd while other products were controlling many weeds and grasses in his orchards, several of his most troublesome weeds remained uncontrolled.

“Competing treatments were working but weren’t working for certain weeds,” he says. “I haven’t seen any weaknesses with Pindar GT in our high-pressure weed situations. It killed the weeds that the competitor didn’t, especially marestail.”

A herbicide applied during the orchard’s dormant period can catch late-germinating weeds and winter annuals that you otherwise may miss. Treating weeds when small also minimizes competition with your trees next spring. Postharvest rainfall helps the herbicide better reach the seed germination zone and cooler soil temperatures may improve residual control.

McDowell Farms

McDowell put Pindar GT to the test in his peach orchards in 2017 and 2018. He applied the herbicide in late September or early October in high weed-pressure environments.

“Johnsongrass, pigweed, marestail – you name it and we’ve got it. Pindar GT really takes care of our problem weeds like marestail,” he says. “I’m pleased with the performance of Pindar on hard-to-control weed species.”

Application timing depends on weather conditions, but McDowell generally aims for September or October.

“We hit weeds twice – first in the fall with a tank mix of Pindar GT and paraquat and then in early spring before bud swell with paraquat mixed with another herbicide. Those are our only weed control treatments applied all year,” he says.

“We rely on the residual Pindar GT provides,” McDowell adds. “The fall tank mix holds. Our orchard rows are still clean when the time comes for our next spray.”

McDowell, who produces strawberries and peaches, has been farming since he was “big enough to crawl onto a tractor.”

“It’s all I’ve ever done,” he says. “I started farming strawberries with my dad and he farmed with his dad before that. My granddad always had peaches. Farming is bred into you.”

His wife, Sheila, is also active in the family farming business. She assists with production and handles the farm’s roadside stand.

“She was in nursing for more than 20 years and when we expanded our operation with a roadside stand, we expanded her role on the farm,” McDowell says.

Today, McDowell Farms also includes eldest son Clayton, 18. “I enjoy having my son work with me,” McDowell says. Another son, Carson, 16, is still in high school and hasn’t decided whether he’ll join the family business. “I’ve left it up to him.”

Learn more about PindarGT.

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TM ®Trademark of Dow AgroSciences, DuPont or Pioneer, and their affiliated companies or their respective owners. Pindar is not registered for sale or use in all states. Contact your state pesticide regulatory agency to determine if a product is registered for sale or use in your state. Always read and follow label directions.

© 2019 Dow AgroSciences LLC


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