Avadex Granules (tri-allate) are increasingly used in winter sown crops, but they are well worth considering in spring crops too. With label recommendations and EAMUs, Avadex can be used in virtually all spring crops including 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.
Dr. Dominic Lamb of Gowan reports that there has been a significant increase in the use of the residual herbicide Avadex 15G Granules. “Many more growers are now using Avadex as the essential start point of their herbicide programme. This is because it fulfils 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.”
“In the last two years many farmers have invested in their own granule applicators or have identified a contractor to apply Avadex Granules for them, as they are keen to integrate this valuable active ingredient into their weed control programme in both winter and spring sown crops. Last spring we saw an unusual upsurge in spring cropping as a direct result of the difficulties of drilling in autumn 2012, but there is still a large amount of land down to spring crops. In fact some growers plagued with black-grass have decided to break the autumn cropping domination and have moved to spring crops in order to break the black-grass cycle,” he says.
With the short growing season, spring crops need weed competition removed early, especially if drilling is delayed by wet soils this season But overall there is a limited range of herbicide from which to choose; grass weed herbicides in spring crops are particularly limited, says Dominic. Avadex has full label recommendations for spring barley, vining peas, forage/dried peas, field beans, sugar beet, red beet, fodder beet and mangels and Extensions of Authorisation for Minor Uses (SOLAs) for use in spring oilseed rape, linseed, canary seed, lupins and broad beans.
Dr. Dominic Lamb of Gowan says that Avadex needs to be part of the weed control programme and is best suited to being the starter herbicide. “Applied pre-emergence at a dose rate of 15 kgs/ha to well-prepared moist seedbeds, Avadex de-waxes and sensitises black-grass and other weeds, boosting the overall efficacy of the herbicide programme. It can then be followed by a flufenacet-containing herbicide in cereals which are now recommended in spring barley or an ethofumesate-containing herbicide or graminicide such as clethodim or tepraloxydim in sugar beet. Tri-allate is known to work in a different way to many other graminicides in broad-leaved spring sown crops so it will find a key position in a 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). For further information please go to www.avadex.co.uk .
