Enhanced pre-em herbicide performance in potatoes, beans and other spring crops with BackRow

With most potato and bean crops now being treated with pre-emergence herbicides, the addition of a specialist soil adjuvant BackRow will ensure that weed competition is removed early and effectively, so allowing these crops to emerge unhindered and to grow more vigorously early in the season. BackRow will also reduce the number of fine spray droplets below 100 microns, and so minimises drift and improves the spray pattern.

"Based on a unique blend of non-ionic surfactants, emulsifiers, sticking agents and specialist oils, BackRow has been specifically designed to optimise coverage and deposition of pre-emergence herbicides onto the soil surface. Its use ensures that its partner residual herbicide is uniformly distributed over the soil surface and is kept within the upper soil profile where the weeds are most active. It also binds the herbicide firmly onto soil particles, reducing the risk of leaching and increasing herbicide persistency," says Alan East, Technical Manager for Interagro Ltd.

BackRow is suitable for use with a range of pre-emergence herbicides in potatoes including linuron, metribuzin and prosulfocarb and also in beans including clomazone, linuron, pendimethalin, pendimethalin and imazamox and prosulfocarb. It is approved for use in potatoes, beans, peas, maize, sugar beet, cereals and oilseed rape.

"BackRow works well with any herbicide that act through roots and shoots and also when weeds have yet to emerge. It is not designed to be used with contact herbicides. It works well on light, medium or heavy soils but is not recommended on very light soils such as coarse sands, sand, fine sand or loamy coarse sand. It is recommended at a dose rate of 400 ml/ha, irrespective of water volumes and is particularly effective at low water volumes," says Alan.

Trials from the Scottish Agricultural Colleges have demonstrated the benefit of BackRow when used with the pre-emergence potato herbicides Defy (prosulfocarb), Sencorex (metribuzin) and linuron. The replicated trials show that when BackRow was added to 3 litres/ha of Defy plus 1 litre/ha of linuron (just below the new maximum dose rate for this season) the control of volunteer oilseed rape went from 67% to 93%, Black Bindweed control went from 30% to 67%, Field Speedwell from 67% to 100% and Charlock from 67% to 100%. Similarly when BackRow was added to 4 litres/ha of Defy plus 0.5 kg/ha of Sencorex, it lifted the level of control of volunteer oilseed rape from 62% to 97%, Fool’s Parsley from 67% to 100%, Field Speedwell from 67% to 100% and Charlock from 67% to 100%.

"All herbicides tested benefited from BackRow, but there was more of a benefit with linuron than with Sencorex, probably because of its solubility. The new lower maximum dose rate for linuron of just 600 gms.ai/ha (equivalent to 1.2 l/ha for a 500 gm/litre formulation) in both potatoes as well as beans means that linuron is unlikely to be applied alone but will need a mixer partner. At these low doses its performance needs to be maximised by the inclusion of a specialist soil adjuvant such as BackRow," says Alan.

For further details please contact Alan East, Technical Manager, Interagro on 01376 552703 (from 17th March) or 07775 696268 (mobile).