Mar. 1, 2010
Palmer pigweed is expected to be an agricultural nightmare as it has become resistant to Roundup, Monsantos glyphosate-based herbicide, according to The Commercial Appeal.
Larry Steckel, a University of Tennessee weed specialist, said farmers are resorting to herbicides used in the 1980s and 1990s -- at a cost of about US$35 to $40 per acre per season. Roundup costs farmers about $10 per acre per season. Steckel says Palmer pigweed is expected to have a huge presence on cotton fields in the mid-South US this year.
A difficult pest, Palmer pigweed has to be sprayed for prior to its emergence from the ground, or else the weeds become like "steel" and must be pulled out by hand.
View More