Using Cover Crops to Suppress Horseweed

Research shows that cover crops can be used as a weed management tactic to suppress horseweed prior to planting and early in the cropping season. This result, combined with other benefits of cover crops, is substantial. However, cover crops weren’t able to provide season-long suppression of horseweed. Once the cover crop mulch degrades, horseweed is able to germinate and grow; therefore, additional weed control methods should be used to control horseweed after this point in the season. It is also important to use an effective burndown herbicide to control horseweed prior to planting. If the opportunity to control horseweed prior to planting a cash crop is missed, control will be more difficult during the growing season.