With the introduction of the Three-crop rule and with many farmers using this as a spur to introduce spring cropping onto their farm, the position of Avadex Excel 15G as the starter herbicide in grass-weed programmes, autumn or spring, has been further reinforced. “Whilst the Three-crop rule must be implemented, where it is necessary to do so, a lot of spring cropping is being purely driven by the need to control black-grass, however,” points out Robert Plaice, Technical Manager for Gowan UK.
Robert reports that there has been an upsurge in the use of the residual herbicide Avadex Granules. “Many more growers are using it as the essential starting point of their herbicide programme. They have invested in their own granule applicators or have identified a trusted contractor to apply Avadex for them. They want it in their weed control programme as it plays a key role in the control of difficult-to-control grass-weeds such as black-grass, annual meadow-grass and wild-oats as well as some common broad-leaved weeds including cleavers, charlock, chickweed, mayweeds and poppy.”
“There will always be a large amount of land put down to spring crops and with the Three-crop rule being introduced this year, the area is expected to increase significantly, particularly spring barley and pulses. Some growers plagued with black-grass have taken the opportunity to move away from autumn cropping domination and sow spring crops instead, specifically to break the black-grass cycle,” he says.
With the short growing season, spring crops need weed competition to be removed early, but there are a limited number of effective grass-weed herbicides now a days, he says.
Avadex Granules (tri-allate) are already used in many winter sown crops as the first and essential pre-emergence treatment, but they are also very useful as the starter herbicide for spring crops. With a wide range of label recommendations and EAMUs, Avadex can be used in spring barley, spring oilseed rape, spring linseed, sugar beet, vining peas, combining peas, field beans, red beet, fodder beet, lucerne, red clover, white clover, sainfoin, mangels, vetch, canary seed, lupins and broad beans.
Robert Plaice advises that Avadex is best suited as the starter herbicide. “Applied pre-emergence (sugar beet pre-drilling) at a dose rate of 15 kgs/ha to well-prepared moist seedbeds, Avadex brings its well-known boosting effect to the overall efficacy of the herbicide programme. It can then be followed in spring barley or spring wheat by a flufenacet-containing herbicide or in sugar beet by an ethofumesate-containing herbicide or graminicide such as clethodim or tepraloxydim. Tri-allate works in a different way to many other graminicides in broad-leaved spring sown crops, so it will find an important position in most weed control programme.”
Avadex Excel 15G contains 15% w/w tri-allate, formulated as granule. It is recommended on all winter wheat, winter barley, durum wheat, triticale, winter rye, winter field beans, spring barley, peas, spring field beans, forage legumes, sugar beet, fodder beet, mangel and red beet. It controls wild-oats, volunteer (tame) oats and moderate populations of Italian rye-grass, annual meadow-grass and black-grass. Applied pre-emergence of weeds, useful control of annual broad-leaved weeds including cleavers, charlock, chickweed, common poppy, field pansy, field speedwell, forget-me-not, fumitory, ivy leaved speedwell, mayweed spp and red dead-nettle is obtained. It is applied at a dose rate of 15 kg/ha, with one application per crop. It is packed in a 1-ha pack (15 kg).
