Desiccated potato plants prior to harvest
Pre-harvest crop desiccation (also siccation[1] ) refers to the application of a herbicide to a crop shortly before harvest.[2] Herbicides used include glyphosate, diquat and glufosinate.[2] For potatoes, carfentrazone-ethyl is used.[3] Other desiccants are cyanamide, cinidon-ethyl, and pyraflufen-ethyl.[4][5][unreliable source?] Uneven crop growth is a problem in northern climates during wet summers or when weed control is poor and several of advantages of desiccation have been cited: More even ripening is achieved and harvest can be conducted earlier; weed control is initiated for a future crop; earlier ripening allows for earlier replanting; desiccation reduces green material in the harvest putting less strain on harvesting machinery.[2] Some crop may be mechanically destroyed when crop desiccation machinery moves through the field.
The application of glyphosate differs between countries significantly. It is commonly used in the UK where summers are wet and crops may ripen unevenly. Thus in the UK 78% of oilseed rape is desiccated before harvest, but only 4% in Germany.[6]
Pre harvest soybean weed control
