Crop talk spring16

WHAT’S NEW WITH BAYER PRODUCTS

Mix It Up: Start today to keep herbicides working tomorrow

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esistant weeds are changing the way growers around the world manage their crops. For some growers in Australia, crop selection is based simply on what they are able to grow given their wide resistant weed spectrum. In the U.S., some growers have had to revert back to costly, less efficient methods of weed control including hand weeding.

While the spread of weed resistance in Canada is still at a point where it can be managed, it won’t stay that way for long without a fundamental shift in the way growers approach weed management. If you want to keep resistance at bay, start with one change to your herbicide plan by mixing things up.

At one time, loyalty to a single product was seen as a plus. These were products you knew worked well at the right price for your farm. Today, continuous use of a single product could be your downfall.

Using the same product repeatedly from the same herbicide group is the fastest way to develop resistance.

Resistant weeds take more time and money to manage, and ultimately leave you with fewer weed control options. In addition, once you have developed weed resistance it will never go away. Set up your management strategies now to avoid the resistance issues tomorrow. Managing herbicide resistance starts with one field, and it starts today.

So what can you do? Mix It Up. Take it one field at a time and make a change to how you think about weed control. Here are some strategies you can start applying today: Consider herbicide selection:

 Rotate herbicide Groups  Match herbicide(s) to the most difficult weeds  Use multiple effective herbicides in the tank Either spot spray or hand pick weeds that weren’t knocked down  during herbicide application Focus on field planning:

 Rotate crops  Choose competitive varieties with the best crop genetics  Maximize crop competitiveness with optimal seeding rates and fertility  Use a crop cover  Consider incorporating tillage Continue managing herbicide resistance in-season:

 Keep equipment clean when moving field to field  Change the direction you seed/cultivate Manage perimeter weeds (in ditches and areas surrounding your crop)  to prevent them from going to seed

Visit MixItUp.ca for more information.

FARMFORUM.CA / SPRING 2016

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Break down the barriers to better weed control Include AMS in your tank mix to optimize herbicide performance

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o understand why adding ammonium sulfate (AMS) to herbicide results in top-notch weed control, it’s important to first understand how a herbicide enters a plant and how less than ideal growing conditions can affect this process.

In order to be effective, foliar herbicides need to move from where they make contact on the outside of the plant, to target sites within the plant. The initial barrier a herbicide encounters after it comes in contact with a plant is a waxy layer on the leaves known as the cuticle. A plant uses the cuticle to protect itself from the environment.

The thickness of the cuticle can depend on weed species, plant development and environmental conditions. Under ideal growing conditions, the cuticle will be thin and more permeable which will allow for better uptake of the herbicide. Under less

When weeds are advanced, the addition of AMS to your tank mix will maximize the herbicide’s uptake and improve its performance than ideal growing conditions, a herbicide alone may not be able to effectively penetrate a thick cuticle. By adding a liquid spray grade Ammonium Sulfate (AMS) to the tank, you will increase the speed and amount of active ingredient that the plant can uptake by improving cuticle penetration. This allows more active

Take control of weeds early to boost yield

ingredient to be translocated to the plant cells where it can access the target sites.

The result is increased herbicide efficacy compared to not using AMS, especially under less than ideal growing conditions.

If the weed growth stage is advanced, there will be more target sites for the herbicide to reach in order to achieve effective control. In this case, even a thin cuticle can prevent enough herbicide from entering the plant, resulting in a loss of control. When weeds are advanced, the addition of AMS to your tank mix will maximize the herbicide’s uptake and improve its performance.

Whether you’re dealing with an advanced weed stage, high weed populations, cool temperatures or even ideal conditions, AMS will improve uptake of a herbicide and its efficacy.

For top-notch control of your weeds, consider tank mixing with AMS.

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on’t let weeds steal from your crop. When your crop is young — at the 1- to 4-leaf stage — the timing is optimal to get weeds under control. Any delays allow early emerging weeds to firmly entrench themselves and outcompete your crop for available resources.

Products such as Varro® herbicide are engineered for early weed removal and provide the best yield potential for your crop. Bayer trials have shown a 7% increase in wild oat control when Varro is applied during the early stages.*

Find out how to increase yield potential by up to 10% or more and enter to win a spray performance kit. Visit cropscience.bayer.ca/YieldGain to learn more. * Source: Bayer internal trials, n=78

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FA R M FO R U M .CA / SPRING 2016

WHAT’S NEW WITH BAYER PRODUCTS

Complete your cereal acre and maximize your savings It’s about dollars and sense

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ombining Bayer seed treatment, herbicide and fungicide purchases protects your cereal crops for the duration of the season and helps increase the yield and quality of your harvested grain. In addition, with BayerValue purchase incentives, mixing and matching from the complete offering of high-performing cereal products can increase your savings and maximize your return on investment.

BayerValue rebates help you start strong and stay strong. Begin by saving up to 25% on Bayer cereal seed treatments. Raxil® seed treatment products are well known for unparalleled disease and insect control,

superior emergence and outstanding plant health benefits, leading to a significant increase in yield potential.

Next, choose from Bayer’s family of herbicide solutions to find the products that best fit your fields and the weed profile of your operation.

Allow your cereal crops to thrive by taking out the toughest weeds before they can outcompete your crop for moisture, nutrients and other resources. Save up to 17% on Bayer cereal herbicide purchases.

Now complete your cereal acre with a first-class fungicide treatment to prevent dangerous diseases from destroying the yield and quality of your crop. More than eight years of replicated trials prove that even in drier conditions, fungicides will help improve yield performance and provide better grades and bushel weights at harvest.

Save up to 14% on Bayer cereal fungicides.

By completing your cereal acre, you can save up to $10 per acre in total, while at the same time maximizing the potential of your crop.

To calculate your savings, visit: cropscience.bayer.ca/BayerValueCalculator

The InVigor ‘Performance Driven Tour’ continues

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e’re keeping the tour going. The InVigor® “Performance Driven Tour” features a one-of-a-kind, customdesigned trailer and acts as an interactive, mobile learning centre that demonstrates what goes into every InVigor bag. It showcases the breeding and production technology behind

the development of each new InVigor hybrid, as well as information on the new pod shatter reduction technology and trial data.

Track the progress of the tour on Twitter by following @Bayer4CropsCA and looking up #InVigorPerforms, or contact your local Bayer representative.

FARMFORUM.CA / SPRING 2016

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Start with a clean field Keep volunteer canola out of your crop

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estern Canadian growers continue to favour canola, as it’s consistently one of the highest gross margin crops they can reliably grow. With this in mind, canola is grown more frequently in rotations, which is why volunteer canola has become fourth on the list of weeds growers are most concerned about.* Like any weed, volunteer canola competes with your intended crop for nutrients, moisture and other available resources, which can significantly limit your profitability.

Furthermore, unmanaged volunteers can introduce disease, carry unwanted

herbicide tolerance and otherwise reduce the yield potential of the new crop.

The good news is that volunteer canola can be effectively controlled by having a plan that helps eliminate volunteers before they can become a problem.

Accurately calibrating your combine and ensuring the header is set appropriately can greatly reduce the amount of potential volunteer seed left on the ground after harvest. Also, allowing fall-germinated volunteer canola to grow until either the fall frost can kill it or birds and insects attack it can help reduce the amount of seed in the seed

bank come spring. However, even the most diligent grower will struggle with volunteer canola prior to seeding. This brings us to the most essential part of any volunteer management program, the need for a pre-seed burn down.

A pre-seed application of Pardner® herbicide, tank mixed with glyphosate, controls all types of volunteer canola and over 28 other broadleaf weeds.

To maximize the profitability of your farm, implement an integrated program that utilizes a combination of good farming practices with a pre-seed burn down that includes Pardner.

* Agriculture Canada’s compilation of the most prevalent weeds in Saskatchewan, 2014-15.

cropscience.bayer.ca 1 888-283-6847

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he 2015 Fungicide Demonstration Strip Trial (DSTs) results are in!

Conducted for the past eight growing seasons, the results have consistently shown that a fungicide application will pay off in the end with better-yielding, higher-quality crops. New this year are results from fungicide DSTs on pulse crops. As with other crops, it also pays to spray fungicide on pulse crops.

Visit ItPaysToSpray.ca for more information on the Bayer Fungicide DST program and to see how different fungicides performed in your area.

@Bayer4CropsCA Always read and follow label directions. InVigor®, Pardner®, Raxil® and Varro® are registered trademarks of Bayer Global. Bayer CropScience Inc. is a member of CropLife Canada.

FA R M FO R U M .C A / SPRING 2016

PHOTOS: BOTTOM, THINKSTOCK, TOP, JEANETTE GREAVES

Latest results continue to show ‘It Pays to Spray’