I guess nightshade doesn't get frost bite

The sight of nightshade's purplish/black berries in a "food grade" soybean crop is every producer's worst nightmare. They stain the seed and dramatically reduce the value of the crop. In theory, you would kill uncontrolled nightshade prior to harvest with either a herbicide (i.e. Reglone, glyphosate) or mother nature (i.e. a frost), the berries would drop to the ground, never go through the combine and the seed would be left unstained. Unfortunately this is a theory, and reality shows us otherwise. Around the 12th of October, a significant frost was observed in Waterloo/Wellington county which resullted in a number of annual weed species "dying off" in soybeans.

The one notable exception was nightshade. Even though the leaves were finally starting to wilt after 4-5 days of consecutive frosty mornings, the berries were still very much attached to the plant. Plant dessication with herbicides has proven equally ineffective as many berries will still cling to the plant even after it has died off. The average plant in this field had 280 berries with each berry averaging 60 seeds for a total of 16,800 seeds per plant.

If you had Eastern Black Nightshade in a field of "food grade" soybeans it's either because: 1) You didn't know it was there in the first place or 2) You knew it was there, but the herbicide was ineffective Public trials conducted by the University of Guelph (Sikkema, Swanton and Tardif) have shown that following herbicide programs provide greater than 80% control of Eastern Black Nightshade in soybean. 1) Pursuit (PRE or POST - 99% visual control) 2) Lorox L (PRE - 99% visual control at the highest labeled rate) 3) Dual II Magnum (PRE) followed by Reflex (POST - 98% visual control) 4) Dual II Magnum (PRE, highest labeled rate - 87% visual control) 5) Frontier (PRE, highest labeled rate - 80% visual control) If you have used one of the above herbicide treatments and they did not provide adequate control, it may be possible that the population of Eastern Black Nightshade in your field is resistant. The University of Guelph can test this population for you to determine if it is herbicide resistant.

< Previous Post

Comment

You need to be a member of Ontario Agriculture to add comments!

Join Ontario Agriculture

Comment by Wayne Black on November 8, 2009 at 3:05pm: Nightshade in some corn samples today at the elevator. My dad's field had it bad in a spot where the corn was thin and short. I think this weed needs an attitude adjustment next year!

Comment by Mike Cowbrough on October 20, 2009 at 9:30am: Thanks Joe, you're absolutely right. There has been limited experience in Ontario with Valtera on nightshade, but so far it has done a very nice job.

Comment by Joe Dales on October 20, 2009 at 9:20am: Hi Mike: The Valent company has a new product registered for nightshade as well.
Here is their news release on registration.

Valent Canada adds Valtera™ Herbicide to 2009 product lineup
Brand new active ingredient benefits soybean growers

GUELPH, ON —Valent Canada has received Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency approval to register Valtera Herbicide for use in soybeans. Valtera is a low use rate preemergence herbicide which gives growers residual control of many broadleaf weeds and enhanced post emergence weed control when tank mixed with glyphosate. It has been sold in the U.S. since 2001 under the trade name Valor® Herbicide.

Valtera controls annual nightshade species (Eastern black nightshade and hairy nightshade), pigweeds (redroot and green), common ragweed, common lambsquarters, and dandelion. Valtera also provides suppression of green foxtail.

New active ingredient
Valtera contains the active ingredient flumioxazin, a member of the protox inhibitor type of herbicides (Group 14), and offers new management options for weeds resistant to Group 2 & 5 herbicides. However, unlike many other Group 14 herbicides, flumioxazin provides enhanced burndown and residual control.

Flumioxazin works by inhibiting production of an enzyme important in the synthesis of chlorophyll. "Its rapid soil and water dissipation," said Regina Rieckenberg, Valent Canada sales and marketing manager, "along with a low use rate, results in a low carryover potential to rotational crops."

In identity preserved soybeans, Valtera is intended to be used in a program with other residual herbicides. It should be applied as a preplant or early preemergence herbicide, from 30 days prior to planting and up to three days after planting (before emergence). In burndown situations, it can be used as a foundation herbicide partner with glyphosate in glyphosate-tolerant soybeans.

"By using flumioxazin in a program with other herbicides," said Rieckenberg, "the grower helps to preserve the effectiveness of other herbicides and decreases or delays development of weed resistance. With excellent weed control and flexible rotational restrictions, Valtera ushers in a new era of weed control."

Valtera is one of the many quality products from Valent Canada, including plant growth regulators, herbicides and insecticides. Valent's product line includes leading brands such as DiPel® Insecticide, Distance® Insect Growth Regulator (IGR), Fascination® Plant Growth Regulator (PGR), Foray® Biological Insecticide, MaxCel® PGR, Promalin® PGR. ReTain® PGR, Sumagic® PGR, VectoBac® Biological Insecticide and Velocity® Herbicide.

RSS

Welcome to
Ontario Agriculture

Sign Up
or Sign In

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Optimism high as Premier Moe and Prime Minister Carney talk trade with Chinese officials

With Premier Scott Moe in China with Prime Minister Mark Carney over the next few days, Provincial Agriculture Minister David Marit told reporters Tuesday morning his optimism for the tariffs on canola and other agri-food products is high. "I would have to think, for the Prime Minister to be going, that they probably think that there's some end to this, and I would hope that there would be," Marit said at the Western Development Museum following an announcement of ADF funding allocated to 39 crop research projects. "I'm sure our Premier's going to be having the full discussion about the canola tariffs and the tariffs and the pea tariffs that we're having as important for the food supply chain and everything, and the impact it's having, not only here to the producers, but for the food that they do also need in China." When asked by Kevin Hursh, Chief Agricultural Editor of SaskAgToday.com, if it is reasonable to be optimistic unless Canada can make movement on tariffs on Chinese ele

Cargill on track to start-up canola crush facility this spring

Cargill's canola crush facility in Regina is expected to be operational this spring. The project started in 2022 and was originally set to open last fall but was delayed due to construction challenges and economic factors. Christopher Kuntz, a grain marketing advisor for Cargill's Davidson and Clavet locations, says it's a good feeling to finally have the facility come online. "I know we've been talking about this piece of infrastructure being built for well since like 2018, 2019. So having an end in sight and getting that up and running for our customers this spring is a happy event for everybody involved." he said. The plant is located on the west end of Regina, in the Global Transportation Hub for better access, Kuntz said. "It gives us an opportunity to really pull in canola from a number of different areas without having to actually go through the city of Regina, which could be a bind. Access to a couple of different rail lines as well is very important when you're setting up

National consortium formed to accelerate Canadian pea breeding through genomic selection

Today at the Saskatchewan Crops Forum, Protein Industries Canada announced a new two-year project in its Capacity Building Program with GIFS Ag Tech Enterprise Inc. and DL Seeds to develop a pea variety development database that will consolidate genetic information and data for breeders across Canada. With the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre (CDC) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) serving as fundamental partners in this effort, the consortium will integrate genetic, phenotypic, environmental and pedigree data from across the country. This new data analysis platform will empower pulse breeders to leverage thousands of data points simultaneously, improving the quality and speed of breeding decisions and accelerating the development of new crop varieties. “Our government is proud to invest in this collaboration powered by Protein Industries Canada,” said the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Developm

CPMA set to host the biggest produce show in Toronto: Early bird registration is now live

Online registration for the 2026 Canadian Produce Marketing Association’s Convention and Trade Show (CPMA 2026), taking place April 28-30, in Toronto, Ontario, is now open.

We’re Hiring! Southwestern Ontario Farmland Protection Coordinator

The Ontario Farmland Trust (OFT) is a niche land conservation organization that works to permanently protect Ontario’s farmland and associated natural features from being lost to urban sprawl and other non-agricultural uses. We are seeking a dedicated and motivated Farmland Protection Coordinator to join our team who will be responsible for supporting OFT’s farmland protection and conservation efforts in Southwestern Ontario.

More…

Badges | Report an Issue | Terms of Service