Using precision agriculture tools can help identify and respond to kochia pressure in farmers' fields. Farming Smarter's herbicide resistant kochia research project is now entering its third field season.
It began the research project with the research team gathering information from each field in the study. This includes historic yield, soil conductivity, soil samples, and drone imagery.
By surveying the fields, we gained valuable insight on where they might develop kochia patches. These spots include marginal land, saline regions, oil well sites, and field edges. The study uses the same fields for four consecutive years to track the impact on long-term crop rotation.
We measure the weed density in high and low risk zones; every summer after the crops have senesced and kochia is still green, we use a drone to help identify kochia patches whether they are expanding or contracting.
We use variable rate herbicide application for the targeted control of these patches. While the year-to-year efficacy of these applications is mixed, our site-specific strategy is showing promise over a longer-term rotation.
This year, we have seeded salt tolerant cover crops in high-risk saline areas and will be monitoring how kochia populations respond.