Agricultural Herbicides

Professional Agricultural Herbicides for Crop Production

Agricultural herbicides provide preplant, preemergence, postemergence, and harvest-management options for controlling weeds in field crops, vegetables, orchards, vineyards, berries, specialty crops, fallow ground, and other labeled production sites.

Available products may include selective herbicides, nonselective burndown treatments, soil-residual herbicides, contact and systemic herbicides, grass-control products, broadleaf herbicides, desiccants, and harvest aids. Product selection should be based on the crop, target weeds, application timing, herbicide-tolerance trait, soil conditions, and rotational plan.

Preplant, Preemergence, and Postemergence Herbicides

Preplant and burndown herbicides control existing vegetation before crop establishment. Some treatments can be applied immediately before planting, while others require a specific interval between application and planting. Tillage system, crop, soil moisture, target weeds, and herbicide residual activity determine program fit.

Preemergence herbicides create a residual control zone in the soil and are primarily used to control germinating weed seedlings. Performance depends on application uniformity, soil texture, organic matter, moisture, rainfall or mechanical incorporation, application rate, and the susceptibility of the emerging weed species.

Postemergence herbicides target weeds after emergence. Effective control depends on accurate weed identification, weed size, growth stage, environmental conditions, spray coverage, adjuvant selection, and crop tolerance. Applications made after weeds exceed labeled size limits may provide less consistent control and allow additional crop competition.

Selective and Nonselective Weed Control

Selective herbicides control specific grasses, broadleaf weeds, sedges, or other weed groups while allowing a labeled crop to remain. Selectivity may depend on application rate, crop growth stage, herbicide-tolerance trait, placement, application timing, or the crop’s ability to metabolize the active ingredient.

Nonselective herbicides control a broad range of vegetation and are commonly used for preplant burndown, directed orchard and vineyard applications, fallow programs, field borders, and other labeled sites. Shielded or directed application equipment may be required to prevent contact with susceptible crop foliage, stems, or green bark.

Soil Residual Activity and Crop Rotation

Soil-applied herbicides differ in solubility, adsorption, persistence, mobility, and activation requirements. Soil texture, organic matter, pH, rainfall, irrigation, temperature, microbial activity, and application rate can influence weed control, crop tolerance, and residual duration.

Residual herbicides may restrict the planting of rotational crops for a specified period after application. Review plant-back intervals when planning crop rotation, cover crops, double cropping, replanting after crop failure, or conversion to a different production system.

A rotational crop listed on another product label is not automatically permitted following the herbicide application. The rotational restrictions on the herbicide applied to the field determine when the next crop can be planted.

Herbicide Groups and Resistance Management

Compare agricultural herbicides by active ingredient and herbicide mode-of-action group. Repeated use of the same herbicide group can select for resistant weed populations, even when products with different brand names are used.

Resistance-management programs should include effective herbicides from different mode-of-action groups, labeled tank mixtures, overlapping residual control, crop rotation, tillage where appropriate, competitive crop stands, sanitation, and control of weed escapes before seed production.

Tank-mix partners should each be effective against the target weed at the growth stage present. Adding an ineffective rate or an active ingredient to which the weed is already resistant does not provide an additional effective mode of action.

Application Rate, Coverage, and Spray Adjuvants

Agricultural herbicide rates may be based on treated acres, soil characteristics, weed species, weed size, crop stage, or concentration of active ingredient. Accurate field measurement, sprayer calibration, nozzle selection, operating pressure, carrier volume, agitation, and travel speed are required for uniform application.

The herbicide label determines whether a nonionic surfactant, crop-oil concentrate, methylated seed oil, ammonium sulfate, water conditioner, drift-control agent, or another adjuvant is required or permitted. Water hardness, pH, suspended solids, tank-mix order, and formulation compatibility can affect spray performance.

Crop, Harvest, and Application Restrictions

Confirm the specific crop or crop group, application method, crop-growth stage, maximum rate per application, maximum annual rate, retreatment interval, preharvest interval, and rotational restrictions before selecting a product.

Herbicides registered for one crop should not be assumed appropriate for a related crop unless the individual crop or applicable crop group appears on the label. State-specific restrictions, endangered-species requirements, runoff controls, and spray-drift mitigation may also affect product selection and application planning.

Why Buy Agricultural Herbicides from Intermountain Turf Supply?

Intermountain Turf Supply offers professional agricultural herbicides for growers, crop consultants, commercial applicators, farm managers, orchard and vineyard operators, and specialty-crop producers.

Customers can compare labeled crops, target weeds, active ingredients, herbicide groups, application timings, residual characteristics, use rates, package sizes, and cost per treated acre. Our professional product selection supports applications ranging from small specialty-crop plantings to large-scale commercial crop-production programs.