Here we go again. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture reported that Palmer Amaranth had been discovered in Houston County. That is the eighth county Palmer Amaranth has be found in since 2016. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture was contacted by the Houston County Ag Inspector after seeing several hundred weeds growing in a small hay field he suspected was Palmer Amaranth. The field has been mowed, burned off with flame throwers to destroy the weeds and any seed.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture Palmer Amaranth team will monitor the field for the next three years. "While we're still trying to determine how Palmer Amaranth got into the field, we're asking farmers to scout for the weed now before harvest." said Denis Thiede, MDA's Seed Unit Supervisor. "The plants will be identifiable with flowering and fruiting structures. Seedhead spikes can get up to three feet long and are pricklier than waterhemp or other pigweed spikes."

It you see a weed in your field this fall that you suspect is Palmer Amaranth don't run it through the combine! Go around the patch or stop and "collect the whole plant being careful to collect any seed. Then call your agronomist, Extension Educator or the MDA's Arrest the Pest line at 888-545-6684. You do not want to let Palmer Amaranth get established in your fields!

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