Role of Herbicides in Soybean Production

Band applications of the best residual preemergence herbicides were equal to timely shallow cultivations for weed control in soybeans, and were superior when wet weather delayed the early shallow cultivations. The ten-year average soybean yield reduction of 3.8 bushels per acre from weed competition despite normal control methods suggests that, under normal conditions, the net cost of herbicide treatment would not exceed the value of the soybeans lost through failure to control weeds. Coarse broad-leaved annuals were a minor part of the weed populations and there was no giant foxtail, so the benefits of herbicides would probably be greater with these weeds present.