Grower experiences this harvest are beginning to show that the value of precision desiccation may extend well beyond chemical savings.
WEED-IT CANADA | SEPTEMBER 2026
Two weeks ago, we wrote about where WEED-IT Quadro-DASH fits into the regenerative agriculture conversation through more intentional desiccation.
Two weeks during a Western Canadian harvest can tell us a lot.
As more combines have started moving, growers are sharing what they are seeing. The conversation is extending beyond chemical savings to water, sprayer productivity, harvest performance and even crop quality.
One grower recently shared results from three tanks while desiccating at 20 GPA with a 1,600-gallon tank. A blanket application at that rate would cover approximately 80 acres per fill.
| WITH WEED-IT, HE COVERED • Tank 1: 177 acres • Tank 2: 195 acres • Tank 3: 146 acres |
That’s 518 acres from three tanks, compared with approximately 240 acres from three blanket applications.
Importantly, he wasn’t reducing the selected application rate. Where treatment was triggered, he was still applying at 20 GPA.
There is an obvious input-saving story. Another grower recently estimated Reglone at $12.45/L, applying approximately 0.9 L/acre, or roughly $11.21 per acre in product.
But what if some of the biggest value comes from what happens when we don’t spray crop that doesn’t need it?
A lentil grower shared an interesting example with us this harvest. Using WEED-IT, he selectively desiccated the green material while leaving portions of the crop that were already mature untreated. He told us those naturally mature lentils retained their colour rather than becoming bleached, which he believes helped protect crop quality and avoid a potential grade reduction.
Then the combine entered the field.
The grower reported being able to combine approximately 2–2.5 mph faster where WEED-IT had been used for targeted desiccation. Importantly, these lentils were yielding approximately 40–43 bu./acre.
We heard a similar observation last season from a Saskatchewan canola grower. Half his field was desiccated using 20-inch nozzle spacing and half using his WEED-IT system with 10-inch spacing. He reported combining the WEED-IT-treated portion approximately 1 mph faster.
These are individual grower experiences, not controlled research trials, and results will vary. But they raise an important question:
What is the value of not spraying an acre that doesn’t require treatment?
It might be $11.21 in product. It might mean fewer water fills and more acres between tanks. It might help protect crop quality. And, based on what growers are telling us, there may also be important harvest-efficiency benefits.
Precision desiccation isn’t about using the least product possible. It is about achieving the agronomic result where treatment is required while avoiding unnecessary application where it isn’t.
| Sometimes the most valuable application decision may be knowing where not to spray. |
