Giving weed control in spring crops a boost

deliver better than 95% of control including shepherd’s purse, red dead nettle, speedwell, poppy, chickweed and mayweed.

“Alternatively, Tower can also be used as an early post-emergence contact treatment (when the grassweed target has one or two leaves) when it will deliver a level of performance on a par with its pre-emergence function. Its e cacy at the post-emergence timing will however be hampered in excessively

With spring drilling well underway, it’s a crucial time to nalise weed control strategies.

For di cult grass and broad-leaved weeds, that means ensuring a range of active ingredients are applied at the optimum timing(s) and rate, and that full coverage is achieved by selecting an appropriate spray nozzle and water volume for the weeds being targeted.

Using a range of active ingredients in a single tank mix is one way of easing workload pressures, with pre-mixed formulations eradicating any concerns regarding product compatibility and speeding up the sprayer lling process. Using premixed products also reduces the amount of empty spray cans and packaging that will need to be recycled.

According to Adama’s Dr Bill Lankford (pictured right), spring germinating weeds can be controlled in springsown wheat and barley with Tower, a unique three-way formulation of chlorotoluron, di ufenican and pendimethalin.

“Tower’s unique triple-active formulation can be used either as a pre-emergence treatment, or as a post-emergence application to provide standalone control of annual meadow grass, common chickweed, mayweed and common poppy and many other broad-leaved weeds,” Dr Lankford explains. dry conditions, so the best advice in spring is to apply as a pre-emergence treatment to insure against dry conditions post-drilling.”

For spring barley elds with a history of di cult black-grass or rye grass, there are on-label and EAMU options to add additional modes of action such as prosulfocarb or ufenacet to the pre-emergence mix.

Tower contains 250g/litre chlorotoluron, 40g/litre di ufenican and 300g/litre pendimethalin and can be applied at a maximum individual dose of 2-litres/ha.

Post-approval biological assessment data also shows Tower to give good control of a number of non-label weeds including groundsel, fool’s parsley, fat hen, eld bindweed, black bindweed and small nettle; all of which proved susceptible from pre-emergence up to two leaf growth stage. FG

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Maize barley and spring wheat, Tower a new label approval for in these crops.

In addition to its use in spring barley and spring wheat, Tower has also recently received a new label approval for use in spring rye and spring triticale and is one of only a handful of herbicides labelled for grass weed control in these crops.

“With its new approval, Tower o ers growers the potential to power up the control of ALS-resistant weeds and can be applied at its full rate as a preemergence residual treatment to

Interest in mechanicalweedinghas grown significantlyover recent years as the legal requirements oncropcare chemicals became more stringent andcrop resistance tochemicals increases. Inadditionmechanicalweedingmeets the demandfor reduced chemicaluse in crop production.

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•Broad spectrum weed control

•Unique SX® formulation

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Optimise herbicide applications for e ective weed control this spring

Maximising herbicide e ciency will be key for growers wanting to e ectively control weeds whilst reducing their inputs this spring.

FMC commercial technical manager, Mat Hutchings, says that as the price of input costs continues to rise, many farmers will be aiming to reduce their inputs to save on costs and minimise their environmental impact this season.

“Herbicides are fundamental for the control of spring germinating weeds in winter cereal crops, and it will be di cult to achieve optimum margins if herbicide inputs are reduced. It’s a real balancing act,” he comments.

Therefore, he recommends that growers should aim to maximise the performance of their applications, where appropriate, through tank mixing, cultivation and by tailoring herbicide applications around seasonal conditions.

“Tank mixing allows growers to apply their chosen products to a crop in one pass, reducing compaction and helping to reduce labour and fuel costs,” says Mr Hutchings.

Sulfonylurea (SU) herbicides are a group of products which are e ective at controlling weeds.

“Ally Max SX is an example of a co-formulated SU herbicide, which contains metsulfuron and tribenuron. It has wide weed spectrum when applied alone but can also be used with an appropriate partner product if the weed spectrum dictates. It is a good choice for growers looking to maximise their herbicide performance,” he explains.

On top of choosing a suitable herbicide, Mr Hutchings urges growers to consider how cultivation could help reduce weed pressures. For example, choosing to direct drill could help discourage weed germination. Contrastingly, using more traditional cultivation techniques could encourage weed germination and allow stale seedbed weed control ahead of drilling.

“When growers are considering these options, they should always speak to their agronomist and decide which methods suit their land before making any signi cant decisions,” he advises.

Mr Hutchings also suggests that growers remain aware of weather conditions which can signi cantly a ect weed growth and consequently, herbicide performance. Ideally any herbicide applications made should be targeted at smaller actively growing weeds to give the most e ective control. Where this is not possible growers should consider increasing herbicide rates or water volumes to improve coverage, especially on weeds like groundsel which can become large very quickly and can develop waxy leaves in windy, dry conditions.

“Weed control can be challenging but it’s always better to reduce the risk of a problem before it becomes a major challenge later down the line,” he says.

“Although some growers may be tempted to make cutbacks with products, I’d recommend always working with your agronomist to investigate how you can optimise applications rather than compromise them,” concludes Mr Hutchings.

For more information on SU herbicides, speak to your agronomist or visit https://fmc-agro.co.uk FG

Control system “evens out spray application”

Knight Farm Machinery’s new Vario Select control system enables users to achieve totally even spray application when working on uneven shaped eld margins and around xed in- eld obstructions.

The system works by using combinations of four di erent capacity spray nozzles at each spray point to o er up to 16 di erent application rates, typically from zero to 800 litres/minute.

The machine can also spot spray from a prescription map, with volumes changing according to the severity of the weed, pest or disease problem.

Vario Select o ers a exible rate control, including turn compensation with the ability to instantly switch between nozzle types, a feature particularly suitable for liquid fertiliser users, says Brian Knight: “Vario Select’ includes a simple computerised nozzle selector which lets the operator dial in the target rate, required droplet size, minimum and maximum pressures and the working speed range. It then displays the available working range.

“The operator can also ask the system to recommend the best choice of nozzles for any particular job.

“Vario Select uses well-recognised technology; is fully integrated with the sprayer’s computer system and is fully Isobus compatible.”

It uses a gyroscopic system to adjust output along the boom in curved tramlines, which ensures that, no matter how much slower the inner boom tip is going and how fast the outer tip, applications are adjusted along the boom so that the application rate remains absolutely even right across the working width. FG