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Accepted manuscript

Influence of Deer Repellent and Herbicide Combinations on Weed Control and Deer Browsing in Soybean

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 January 2026

Grady Rogers
Affiliation:
Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Plant Science and Technology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
Robert A. Pierce II
Affiliation:
Associate Extension Professor, School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
Kevin W. Bradley*
Affiliation:
Professor, Department of Plant Science and Technology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Kevin Bradley, Professor, University of Missouri, Department of Plant Science and Technology, University of Missouri, 201 Waters Hall, Columbia, Missouri 65211. (Email: bradleyke@missouri.edu)
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Abstract

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The impact of white-tailed deer browsing on crop yields, specifically soybean yield, has been a problem within agriculture for several decades. In an effort to reduce the losses incurred by deer browsing, several wildlife repellents have been commercialized and marketed for use on soybean. Despite their availability, limited research has been conducted on the ability of these repellents to deter feeding or the effects of these products on weed control when applied in combination with common herbicides. In 2023 and 2024, a field experiment was conducted in four soybean fields to evaluate five commercial deer repellent products (Bobbex, Hinder, Liquid Fence, Plantskydd+, and Penergetic bWV) for their ability to reduce deer browsing on soybean. Each product was applied either once, twice, or three times in conjunction with the preplant burndown, early postemergence, and late postemergence pesticide applications, respectively. Regular assessments of deer browsing were conducted at weekly intervals following applications. Across all locations in 2023 and 2024, all applications of repellent products, even three sequential applications of these products, failed to provide any consistent suppression in deer browsing throughout the growing season. An additional field experiment was conducted during both seasons to evaluate the potential impacts of combinations of common herbicides and deer repellents on weed control and soybean injury. Results from these trials indicate that very few differences in foxtail species, waterhemp, and common cocklebur control and crop injury were observed with any repellent and herbicide combination compared to treatments of post-emergent herbicides alone. Overall, the results from these experiments indicate that combinations of these deer repellent products with herbicides in tank mixtures do not increase or decrease weed control when compared to stand-alone herbicide treatments. There is also no evidence that these repellent products effectively deter deer browsing during the time frame when the soybean plant may be most vulnerable.

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Type
Research Article
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Weed Science Society of America