Post

Palmer Amaranth found in South Dakota

Palmer Amaranth has been found in South Dakota.  Paul Johnson, the weed science coordinator at South Dakota State University, confirmed that a few of the plants were found in a Buffalo County sunflower field next to the Missouri River in central South Dakota.  It’s unusual that Palmer Amaranth would be there because it generally needs a longer growing season.

“We are suspecting, being this is close to the river where it was found, that we might have had a microclimate type effect go on, or just some seed possibly dropped in by birds this spring,” Johnson told Brownfield Ag News.

The weed is a member of the pigweed family native to the southwestern United States, and Johnson says it’s not known if it is able to overwinter that far north.

“To be honest, we’re not giving it the opportunity,” he said.  “The field was rogued to remove as many plants as we could see for sure,” said Johnson, describing that as many of the weeds that could be found were pulled.  “Hopefully none of them survived, but we will monitor the field in the future to see if any of it does come back.”

A major concern is that Palmer Amaranth in other states has shown resistance to several herbicides.

“It’s not a weed we want to establish and we’re doing everything we can to help make sure it doesn’t become a problem in South Dakota,” said Johnson.

With help from farmers scouting fields, Johnson says the SDSU weed science team will continue to monitor the state for more reports of Palmer Amaranth.