Preliminary Research Showed Atrazine May Not Be Necessary
NNYADP project responds to proposed EPA interest in reducing herbicide’s use; more on-farm trials underway
July 9, 2024. Following upon Environmental Protection Agency interest in reducing the use of atrazine, an herbicide applied for early season weed control in field corn, the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) funded on-farm research in 2023 to address growers’ questions about the effectiveness of using reduced rates of atrazine or no atrazine.
“The results of this limited-scope, preliminary trial demonstrated that excellent corn weed control was achievable regardless of the atrazine rate used and without inclusion of atrazine in the herbicide treatment; however, additional trials are now underway to provide data from other locations and in different growing seasons before we draw any definite conclusions,” said New York State Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Field Crops IPM Coordinator Mike Hunter.
Hunter conducted the research on farms in Franklin and Jefferson counties in 2023. All herbicide treatments – with and without atrazine – provided greater than 93 percent control of common lambsquarter. The range of effectiveness was 93.75 to 100 percent control.
Hunter’s weed control effectiveness assessment primarily focused on common lambsquarter as a predominant weed at both farms in the study. Common lambsquarter grows in wide range of soil types, is a strong consumer of nutrients, and takes a growth advantage from nitrogen applications. The weed’s seeds are spread through the manure of grazing animals and movement of field equipment.
The weed control assessment was conducted 35 days after the application of 16 different pre-emergence herbicide treatments. The application rates were adjusted at each farm based on soil texture and organic matter. Both trial locations received sufficient rainfall to activate the soil-applied treatments.
The “Evaluation of Corn Herbicide Programs With and Without Atrazine” project results are publicly-accessible on the NNYADP website under the About: Projects by Year 2023 tab at nnyagdev.org.
Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Legislature through the New York State Assembly and administrated by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.