Annihilate annual meadow-grass and blast broad-leaved weeds
The early post-emergence window is the natural timing for annual meadow-grass and broad-leaved weed control in winter wheat, but most meadow-grass solutions don’t control the important broad-leaved weeds such as cleavers, charlock, groundsel, fumitory, poppy, mayweeds and chickweed that farmers are looking for. Digital (flumioxazin) is an effective option for annual meadow-grass control and it excels in its ability to control an unprecedented range of broad-leaved weeds, says Dr. David Stormonth, Technical Manager for Interfarm UK Ltd.
"Trials and commercial use show that Digital performs very well on annual meadow-grass, resulting in 95% control on average. For annual meadow-grass, Digital can be used alone at 0.1 l/ha or it can be mixed with Liberator also at 0.1 l/ha if weed populations are particularly high. With just one autumn treatment, you can spray and close the gate."
"In trials, Digital also gave 100% control of charlock, chickweed, cranes-bill, fumitory, field pansy, groundsel, ivy-leaved speedwell, mayweed and red deadnettle, 99% control of cleavers, common field speedwell and Shepherd’s purse and 98% control of poppy. Additionally, users have reported very good activity against volunteer crops, such as beans and borage. No other wheat herbicide performs to this level or offers such a wide a weed spectrum," he reports.
David advises, when applied post-emergence, crops need to be sufficiently hardened off. "From the PPO inhibitor group, Digital has strong contact activity as well as residual activity. Crops need to be reasonably hardened to reduce any risk of foliar spotting. Some frosts are anticipated which should harden emerged crops making them OK to treat. I would warn off treating soft crops, lush crops, waterlogged crops or crops under stress, however."
Dr. Stormonth explains that flumioxazin can be applied post-emergence up to before GS 15, which is when the crop has 5 leaves on the main tiller and usually does not occur until late winter or even early spring. "What it means in practical terms is that Digital can be used post-emergence throughout the autumn and winter during tillering, the usual window for meadow-grass control. The limiting factor is usually the size of the weeds, which need to be small at time of application."
Digital is straight-forward to use. "It has no complications or restrictions when it comes to wheat varieties, sequencing with other herbicides, following crops or cultivations, making it easy to integrate in with other autumn or spring-applied herbicides," says Dr. Stormonth.
®Digital contains 300 gm ai/litre flumioxazin, formulated as a white, non-staining, easy-to-use suspension concentrate, packed in a 500 ml pack. Recommended in winter wheat, it can be used pre or post-emergence up to before GS 15 for the control of a wide range of broad-leaved weeds, including charlock, chickweed, cleavers, common field speedwell, common poppy, field pansy, fumitory, groundsel, ivy-leaved speedwell, mayweed, red deadnettle and Shepherd’s purse, and grass-weeds, including annual meadow-grass and loose silky bent. It is recommended at 100 ml/ha in 200 litres of water, with one application per crop. It has residual and contact activity. It is compatible with a wide range of autumn products, but should not be mixed with any adjuvants or with pendimethalin containing products. It can be sequenced with any product including sulphonylureas, but a 14 day interval should be allowed. Don’t forget the use of a proprietary tank cleaner before and after spraying to thoroughly clean all spray equipment, including booms, pumps, filters and lids.
