Fungicide Registrations for Managing Cereal Diseases in Minnesota
Soils are warming up and everyone is looking forward to seeing fields with green. This is the first year that I have some very good news to report from a disease management perspective.

Wheat and Barley Fungicide Labels Approved
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has grated full registrations (Section 3) recently for several fungicides that are important to wheat and barley production.  The active ingredients metconazole and tebuconazole have passed EPA’s scrutiny and will be marketed either as stand-alone or as premixed products.

A Small Primer on Pesticide Labeling (and why you should care)
The Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registers and licenses pesticides for use in the US under the authority of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).  FIFRA act has defined the following classes of pesticide registrations: Section 3, Section 2(EE), Section 18, and Section 24(c).

Glyphosate and Preemergence Herbicides
Glyphosate prices have more than doubled since last fall and it seems possible that prices will continue their upward trend. Fortunately most ag co-ops in the RRV have already purchased their anticipated glyphosate needs for the summer. If you haven’t already done so, it might not be a bad idea for you to lock in your needs for the year as prices are not expected to decline.

Glyphosate-Resistant Weeds Confirmed in Minnesota
Glyphosate-resistant biotypes of giant ragweed and common waterhemp have been confirmed in southeast Minnesota and are now listed on the International Survey of Resistant Weeds web site. Both species from the Minnesota sites appear to be resistant to approximately four-times the labeled use rate of glyphosate (4X).