The white thread: early season weed management

Our guests today were Dan Brainard, Professor of Horticulture at MSU, and Stephen Meyers, Weed Scientist at Purdue University. Dan’s recent work focuses on using seedbed prep, mechanical weeders, and cover crops for weed control. Stephen focuses on helping vegetable growers using herbicides safely and effectively, as well as testing new products.

How can growers prepare a seedbed to start off as weed-free as possible? 

How does weather affect the activity of pre-emergence herbicides?

Are there any characteristics of herbicides that can be used to predict how their performance and safety will vary in dry vs wet soil conditions?

What tools are most effective for cleaning up small weed escapes in early-sown veggies?

How do pre-emergence herbicides interact with shallow-weeding tools like basket weeders?