BASF Shares Weed Management Advice for Growers Heading Into 2026
Weeds remain a constant and costly challenge for growers across the Southeast, and as planning begins for the 2026 growing season, BASF is offering practical guidance to help producers stay ahead of resistance and protect yields. We caught up with Josh Putman, Technical Marketing Manager with BASF, to discuss effective weed management strategies that apply not only in the Southeast, but across much of the U.S. Corn Belt.
According to Putman, geography matters less than fundamentals when it comes to weed control. “Whether you’re a farmer in Georgia or in the high states of the Midwest, your weed management strategy should be fairly similar,” he said. “It’s all about starting clean and staying clean because when weeds get out of the ground and they get off to the races, that’s when they become very difficult to control.”
Putman explained that weeds are most vulnerable before they emerge. Once weeds break through the soil surface, they develop multiple growing points, making them harder to control and placing greater pressure on post-emergence herbicides. “A weed is at its most vulnerable state when it’s in the ground,” he noted.
For that reason, BASF recommends beginning the season with a strong foundational pre-emergence herbicide, especially ahead of crops like corn. From there, growers should layer in additional residual herbicides with post-emergence applications to close gaps where weeds might escape.
“So it’s really about starting clean and staying clean using a foundational pre-herbicide ahead of your, say, corn for example, and then layering a residual in with the post-application to kind of fill in that gap where weeds might escape,” Putman said.
This approach aligns with long-standing guidance from weed scientists, who stress the importance of season-long control. Putman also encouraged growers to evaluate their weed management plans after harvest by observing fields firsthand.
“Ride in those harvesters in the fall,” he said. “It can be a cotton harvester, a cotton picker, it can be a combine going through a cornfield. Ride in those combines to see how well that plan works and then put together a three to five year plan for managing resistance.”
Developing a long-term strategy is especially important as herbicide resistance continues to spread. BASF emphasizes that local expertise plays a key role in successful weed control. “As always, the experts in the field are the local representatives,” Putman said. “They’re going to be the experts in your geography.”
Growers looking for additional information on BASF weed management tools and strategies can visit agriculture.basf.us for resources tailored to their operations.
By focusing on proven principles—starting clean, staying clean, and planning ahead—BASF says growers can position themselves for stronger weed control and more resilient production systems in 2026 and beyond.
Audio Reporting by Dale Sandlin for Southeast AgNet.