There have been a good number of reports of prickly sida issues in soybean and cotton fields. Prickly sida or tea weed has increasingly become more of an issue in these crops. There are two reasons for this. First, the Group 15 herbicides (Dual Mag, Warrant, Zidua) are the most common PRE-applied herbicides utilized. Though that group of herbicides provides good residual control of pigweed and grasses, it provides no help on sida. Second, is that neither glyphosate nor dicamba has ever been very effective on this weed. The only popular POST option that can give some control is Liberty. However, even Liberty is limited to controlling only very small (<2”) prickly sida. Continue reading
Recent Updates
Managing Dicamba and Glufosinate-Resistant Pigweed

Reports of Palmer amaranth escaping dicamba and/or glufosinate have been common the last couple of days. Based on our recent research this is not a surprise as we have field and greenhouse studies showing that some Tennessee populations cannot be controlled with either herbicide (Figure 1).
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UT Weed Tour is This Wednesday June 17
JACKSON, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture will host the annual Weed Tour June 17 at the West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center. The guided tour will feature 40 weed management research tests in cotton, corn and soybean. Continue reading
Goosegrass Management
The typical delayed planting spring did not occur this year. This is good news from a goosegrass management standpoint as it has cut down on the number of fields that crop scouts and producers find infested with large goosegrass. We are all well versed that there are few good answers when goosegrass gets big. Continue reading
Cotton plant growth regulator guide, variety classification publications now available
The MidSouth Cotton Specialists’ Working Group has just released the 2026 Cotton Variety Guide for Plant Growth Regulation and a more in-depth publication entitled Plant growth regulator use in Mid-South Cotton.Volunteer Canola Control
A common weed question recently is how to control volunteer canola in double crop soybean. We do not have research on this “new” problem. Fortunately, my colleague, Dr. Joe Ikley of North Dakota State University, has good information on what herbicides work best. His research indicates that auxin herbicides like 2,4-D are rated poor for control of volunteer canola.
Fomesafen (Prefix, Reflex, Flexstar, etc.) is rated as excellent on volunteer canola control. This provides growers with an option that is readily available, relatively inexpensive and can provide residual pigweed control.
Liberty is also rated very high on volunteer canola. However, this will be incorrect if the volunteer canola is a Liberty Link variety.
Plant Bug Considerations in Squaring Cotton
Plant bug numbers are increasing across the landscape, and squaring applications are right around the corner. Silking corn, blooming soybeans, and flowering weeds all contribute to large increases in plant bug populations that eventually move into both ThryvOn and non-ThryvOn cotton. Continue reading
UT Weed Tour Next Wednesday June 17
JACKSON, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture will host the annual Weed Tour June 17 at the West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center. The guided tour will feature 40 weed management research tests in cotton, corn and soybean.
Weed Tour runs from 9 – 11:30 a.m., with registration opening at 8:30 a.m. A light breakfast will be served. Continue reading

