Like much of Nebraska, Buffalo County is home to leafy spurge, an invasive weed common across several northern states. It is classified as a difficult weed to kill because of its ability to regenerate from very small pieces of root.
Beginning in 2009, DuPont used part of Buffalo County to conduct trial applications of Perspective, its new broadleaf weed killer, for effectiveness against leafy spurge. Jerry Pitts, commercial field development manager for DuPont Land Management, led the trial. Dirk Kincaid, superintendent of the Buffalo County Weed District at the time, located the trial site, approximately six miles northwest of Odessa, Neb.
Each test plot measured 10 ft by 30 ft and was replicated three times in randomized complete block design. The test area was enclosed by wire fencing installed by Arv Glaser, a private contractor. DuPont used three controls for the field trials: Tordon from Nomix Enviro (applied at 1 qt/acre), Milestone from Dow AgroSciences (7 fl. oz/acre) and 2, 4-D (1 qt/acre). Perspective was applied in two doses: 4.8 oz/acre and 7 oz/acre. All applications were made using a CO2 plot sprayer at 20 gallons per acre.
The first applications were made on June 2, 2009. The test plots were evaluated at 48, 112 and 338 days using percent weed control as the measure of effectiveness.
The results indicated that all four treatments gave “excellent” weed control at the 48-day mark. At both 112 and 338 days after treatment, although the effectiveness of all three control substances had declined to “fair” levels, while Perspective still provided “excellent” control at both rates.
