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Overcome Early-Season Obstacles that Impact Yield

December 3, 2020
This agronomic image shows how Waterhemp competes with early-season corn.

2017; Clarksdale, MO: Waterhemp competes with early-season corn.

Unpredictable environmental factors throughout the year are one thing, but what’s actually the first stress for your corn is early-season weeds. It’s one critical obstacle that’ll prevent you from maximizing your corn’s yield potential.

Weeds present at corn emergence steal vital nutrients like nitrogen and water that are needed for corn growth and grain fill. Syngenta studies found that 1-2” weeds consumed over 9 lbs. of nitrogen per acre, and in 3 days, 3” weeds can remove 1” of water from the soil.*

This competition for nutrients fundamentally alters corn growth. The corn stalks will grow taller and leaves will grow wider to compete for light, using up nutrients needed for strong root development. This will actually overdevelop the above-ground portion of the corn plant, as it tries to grow away from those weeds. And that will be at the expense of good root growth and development below-ground, leaving corn plants vulnerable. These changes negatively impact yield and cannot be overcome with post-emergence weed control.

This chart shows how corn competes with weed

Dr. Clarence Swanton, professor emeritus in the Department of Plant Agriculture at the University of Guelph, pioneered research into early-season weed competition and its impact on corn, even coining the term “far-red effect” to describe the physiological changes that occur in a corn plant when it detects light from nearby weed competition. And his data suggests, yield loss as a result could be anywhere from .5 to 3.3 bushels per day.

This is why it’s so important to plant into clean, weed-free fields and then maintain them through harvest. Using a corn herbicide such as Acuron® will help maintain clean rows with its broad-spectrum control over a wide group of weeds that are often prevalent on most farms. Bicyclopyrone is the MVP ingredient of Acuron that, when combined with the other 3 active ingredients, enables it to deliver more effective and more consistent control – meaning, a higher level of weed control more often – of the toughest weeds than any other product.

When applied preemergence and at full label rates, Acuron lets you discover 5-15 more bushels an acre than with any other herbicide because it controls tough, yield-robbing weeds better.**

Calculate what those extra bushels could mean for your revenue potential.

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All photos and videos are either the property of Syngenta or are used with permission.

The trademarks or service marks displayed or otherwise used herein are the property of a Syngenta Group Company. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Performance assessments are based upon results or analysis of public information, field observations and/or internal Syngenta evaluations. Trials reflect treatment rates and mixing partners commonly recommended in the marketplace.

*2006 Syngenta trial: York, NE.

**Acuron yield advantage range based on 2016 Syngenta and university replicated trials comparing Acuron to Corvus®, Resicore®, SureStart® II and Verdict® applied preemergence and at full labeled rates. For more information on Acuron versus an individual product, ask your Syngenta representative.

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