Preemergence is Paramount if you intend to Grow Sugarbeet in 2022 (04/28/22)
One of these days it will warm-up and the rain and snow will end. Growers will immediately engage, spreading spring fertilizer, conducting tillage, and planting small grains, sugarbeet, and corn. It might be easy to deprioritize PRE herbicides, especially with the urgency to get seeds in soil. We observed waterhemp the first few days of May in 2020 and 2021. The longer-term averages are for waterhemp emergence the first half of May.
Sugarbeet growers control waterhemp by applying chloroacetamide herbicides once sugarbeet reach the 2-lf stage. We don’t have effective POST herbicides, so producers need to properly use soil residual herbicides, especially the chloroacetamide herbicides applied POST to sugarbeet and PRE to waterhemp. However, our delayed planting complicates weed management. The problem is waterhemp will germinate and emerge the same time as sugarbeet, especially in 2022 due to late planting.
We highly recommend sugarbeet growers identifying waterhemp as their primary or secondary weed control challenge in sugarbeet use a preemergence herbicide. We recommend three weed management programs:
- Ethofumesate (Nortron, Ethotron, Ethofumesate 4SC or Nektron) PPI or PRE at 2 to 6 pt/A
- Dual Magnum PRE at 8 to 12 fl oz/A using the 24c local needs label in North Dakota and Minnesota
- Ethofumesate + Dual Magnum PRE at 2 pt + 8 fl oz/A
Discuss which plan is best for your sugarbeet fields with your Agriculturalist, Crop Consultant, or Ag-Retailer.
Extension Sugarbeet Agronomist
NDSU & U of MN
