CropTalk
Volume 21 | Issue 2
What’s new with Bayer CropScience products
New Varro provides freedom in the battle against wild oats F
ighting wild oats can be tough. They appear all across Western Canada, they are highly competitive, have significant resistant populations and in their early stages they look like the cereal crops they are invading. When battling wild oats, growers need products that are effective, that mix well with their chosen broadleaf herbicide and that don’t restrict their crop rotation in the next growing season. New VarroTM herbicide from Bayer CropScience, introduced for the 2012 growing season, allows that flexibility. It’s an effective tool against wild oats, including Group 1-resistant wild oats, has virtually no re-cropping restrictions and is very tank mix friendly. Wild oats can reduce yield dramatically. According to the Canadian Certified Crop Advisor Association, as little as one wild oat plant per square foot can reduce wheat yield by 12 percent. Wild oats are also a management issue that can affect the cereal growers bottom line. “Group 1 resistance is a real concern for growers and Varro offers a Group 2 weed control solution that performs without the restrictions that are typically associated with a Group 2,” says Lauren Davis, Cereal Grass Herbicide Manager at Bayer CropScience. “In addition to wild oats and Group 1-resistant wild oats, Varro provides strong activity on other problem grassy weeds such as green and yellow foxtail, barnyard grass, volunteer canary seed, Persian darnel and Japanese brome. And although we recommend Varro to be tank-mixed with broadleaf products like Buctril M or Thumper, it does bring activity on select problem broadleaf weeds in cereals such as cleavers, hemp-nettle and volunteer canola.”
24 | Farm Forum | Spring 2012
Varro has no re-cropping restrictions with pulse crops, which is a benefit to all growers, but especially those in the brown soil zones. Varro gives growers the confidence that they can safely plant a wide variety of pulse crops including lentils, field peas, chickpeas, soybeans and dry beans the year following an application of Varro. Varro’s flexible tank-mix options allow growers the ability to fine-tune their weed control to their specific field’s needs. It can be mixed with many of the top broadleaf products and has excellent crop safety. “Varro is a product that we launched in direct response to what growers have told us about gaps in their wheat herbicide choices as they try to manage resistance concerns,” says Davis. “We plan to continue to look for new innovations that address changing growing conditions and weed profiles, to best suit what our customers want and what they need to succeed.” CT
New VARRO herbicide from Bayer CropScience provides freedom from wild oats (including Group 1 herbicide resistant ones), freedom to select your preferred broadleaf tank-mix partner and freedom to re-crop.