Pest Profile: Wild Buckwheat

With a fibrous root system that makes it drought-tolerant and highly competitive, a ropy, vine-like structure that easily chokes up combines during harvest and resistance to Group 2 chemicals, wild buckwheat can be a huge headache for growers in the Prairies. It’s tough to kill even during spring burn-off, but effective management is possible using multiple modes of action through tank mixes or combination products.

TYPE

• Annual
• Broadleaf

IDENTIFICATION

The stems are slightly angular, 12 – 35 inches long, trailing on the ground or twining on other plants and freely branching at the base. The leaves are heart-shaped, pointed,1/2 – 3 inches long, alternate and smooth. The flowers are greenish-white, small and appear in leaf axils or at the tips of branches.

CONTROL TIPS

• When scouting, check moist, low-lying areas for patches of wild buckwheat.
• A pre-seed burn-off is recommended with no-till systems.
• Scout fields early because this weed is most sensitive to herbicides.
• During its initial growth stages.

REGISTERED HERBICIDES

• 2,4-D Ester 700¹
• BADGE^®
• INVOLVE^® 50 WDG + Glyphosate
• PHANTOM^® 240 SL²
• SQUADRON^® II
• THRASHER^®
• EMPHASIS™
   

¹ Use highest rate listed for suppression.
² Suppression.
³ Control with additional 2,4-D
Please read each label to determine which herbicide is appropriate for the crop affected.