Barley and wheat farmers should check their crops now to see what grass weeds have survived over the winter, advises Iain Hamilton, field technical manager at Syngenta.
“The cold weather may have helped trigger wild oat germination,” warns Mr Hamilton, “but each field will be different and weed emergence will need to be closely monitored.
“Ryegrass may have come through in the autumn so I am urging farmers to go and look at what has survived any autumn treatments.”
As the weather warms up, emerging weeds and autumn survivors will start to grow away. It is essential to remain in control to protect your investment from yield-robbing weeds.
Matt Londesborough, an Agrii agronomist in Essex, based at Throws Farm, Great Dunmow, recommends Axial for spring grass weed control.
“I have found Axial gives superior control on wild oats and ryegrass,” said Mr Londesborough. “As well as also appearing to work faster than Fenoxaprop on these targets, Axial is based on unique ‘DEN’ chemistry and often provides control when ‘FOP’ based chemistry does not.”
Mr Hamilton added that Axial maintains control in cooler conditions, reducing risk as the weather may turn cold again during the spring. It not only gives the most reliable performance but is a tried and tested way of achieving cost-effective control.
“AXIAL is flexible and reliable has been providing excellent wild oat and ryegrass control across the UK for the past decade,” he said.
Time is of the essence, Mr Hamilton stressed, as weed competition and hence potential yield penalty, increase as the season progresses. Also, smaller weeds are easier to control and the rate of Axial can be tailored to weed size. Best results come from applications in 100L/ha water and remember to always use the adjuvant Adigor at 1% of water volume.
