Grower Perspective

Cotton producer says Enlist® herbicides stay put: “didn’t move an inch”

Cotton producer Jack Allen Jr. says PhytoGen® W3FE varieties and the Enlist® weed control system help him control resistant weeds in cotton fields surrounded by a mix of other crops.

Fences make good neighbors, but the right herbicide system makes good neighbors even better.

Jack Allen Jr. farms in a four-county area outside of Greenville, North Carolina, where you never know what will be growing across the turnrow. His crop mix includes cotton, tobacco, peanuts and sweet potatoes, and many of his fields are near tree lines, gardens and residential yards.  

After researching which herbicide system would be the best fit for his cotton acres in 2018, Allen decided to plant 100 percent PhytoGen® W3FE varieties and use the Enlist® weed control system.

PhytoGen is competitive on yields and carries a good name,” Allen says. “We have a tremendous amount of resistant weeds, so the Enlist system was the driving factor in our decision.”

How did the Enlist system perform?

“We had a very clean crop. Fields had zero weeds in them,” Allen says. “Enlist herbicides killed the weeds, and we never saw any drift — they didn’t move an inch. We sprayed a cotton field across the road from some tobacco, and we didn’t have any issues.”

Allen emphasized the importance of following the label: “Don’t spray it when the wind is blowing toward a susceptible crop. Follow the label, and it will be all right.”

Protection against other pests

While Allen was researching the new PhytoGen brand varieties, he inquired about WideStrike® 3 Insect Protection. He had bollworm damage the year before in a competitive variety, and he wanted something to protect yield. He learned that a nearby North Carolina State University on-farm trial had been hit hard by bollworms, and a PhytoGen variety with WideStrike® 3 Insect Protection won the trial.

“We were interested in WideStrike 3 because we can get stretched with our tobacco, peanuts and cotton,” Allen says. “You have to be extremely timely to get the most benefit out of worm sprays, so we wanted something to help us with that.”

Allen reports that he didn’t make one bollworm spray on his PhytoGen W3FE varieties in 2018. He also didn’t make a thrips application, which he attributed partly to PhytoGen TRiO seed treatment and early season vigor.

“PhytoGen has very good early season vigor. Our cotton got off to a great start, even with the wet conditions,” Allen says. “Earliness is important for us. You want to see your crop get off to a good start and get on its way.”

So what does Allen think of his decision to choose PhytoGen for his cotton acres?

“We’re going to be 100% PhytoGen again in 2019. We have been pleased with the varieties and the technologies,” Allen says. “People in this area are pleased with the new PhytoGen varieties.”

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