Following the continued debate on the lack of active ingredients for black-grass control in wheat, attention may have been diverted from another debate on the reducing options for broad-leaved weed control in this crop. With the future loss of IPU, trifluralin and already the loss of many other active ingredients in broad-leaved crops, wheat growers are being left with fewer and fewer cost-effective options and will be looking for alternative or novel chemistry to control the most competitive and yield-damaging broad-leaved weeds such as cleavers, mayweed, crane"e;s-bill, groundsel and poppy.
"We all know about the loss of active ingredients in the grass-weed market, but what about the ever-increasing gap in the broad-leaved weed sector? Weeds such as mayweed have been traditionally and easily controlled by IPU. Similarly poppy has been controlled by trifluralin. Other weeds such as crane"e;s-bill and groundsel have increased because they have not been controlled by many other herbicides. Cleavers continue to be the most challenging and competitive broad-leaved weed, necessitating control each year across the rotation. Whilst the remaining autumn herbicides have some broad-leaved weed activity, the spectrum is generally incomplete. There is definitely a gap that needs to be filled," says Dr. David Stormonth, Technical Manager for Interfarm UK Ltd.
Launched last year and based on the active ingredient flumioxazin, SumiMax is being put forward as the herbicide to plug that gap, as it offers exceptional control of all these difficult broad-leaved weeds as well as useful control of annual meadow-grass and some activity on black-grass. "When it comes to cleavers control SumiMax is as good as it gets, better than anything else in the autumn and could mean that you may not to have to overspray in the spring."
"In trials when applied early post-emergence at 100 ml/ha, SumiMax gave 100% control of charlock, chickweed, fumitory, field pansy, groundsel, ivy-leaved speedwell, mayweed and red deadnettle, 99% control of cleavers, common field speedwell and Shepherd"e;s purse and 98% control of poppy. I can"e;t think of any other wheat herbicide that performs to this level," reports David.
"SumiMax also has the advantage of being able to be mixed with a useful range of grass-weed herbicides as well as being sequenced with any other herbicide or group. Having no following crop restrictions or following cultivation issues, all add up to a flexible herbicide to use in weed control programmes," says Dr. Stormonth.
In terms of timing, SumiMax can be used pre-emergence or early post-emergence in all varieties of winter wheat up to before GS15, once the crop has hardened off. "For the best control of these difficult broad-leaved weeds, I would recommend an early post-emergence application. Applying flumioxazin post-emergence will give better results due to both the contact and residual activities being fully utilised," says David.
Andy Makings, Sales Manager for Interfarm UK Ltd, sees SumiMax as an excellent solution for most broad-leaved weed problems in wheat. "SumiMax offers outstanding broad-leaved weed activity plus valuable grass-weed activity in winter wheat. It is the advanced solution for the non-IPU era, offering excellent control of a wide range of broad-leaved weeds and good control of Annual Meadow-grass. Trials show that it performs very well on Annual Meadow-grass, on average 90% control, much more consistently than IPU has ever done," says Andy.
SumiMax contains 300 gms ai/litre flumioxazin formulated as a white, non-staining, easy-to-use suspension concentrate and is packed in a 500 ml pack. Recommended on all varieties of 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 and grass-weeds. It is recommended at 100 ml/ha in 200 litres of water, with one application per crop. It has both residual and contact activity, affecting weeds via leaves, stems and emerging roots and shoots. It is compatible with a wide range of relevant autumn products but should not be used with any adjuvants. It can be sequenced with any product including sulphonylureas, but a 14 day interval should be allowed. The use of a proprietary tank cleaner is recommended immediately after spraying to thoroughly clean all spray equipment, including booms, pumps, filters and lids. Flumioxazin is available as Digital, SumiMax and Guillotine.
For further comment and information, please contact
1)Dr. David Stormonth, Technical Manager, Interfarm UK Ltd. on 01354 741414 or 07818 036506 (mobile) or via e-mail david.stormonth@interfarm.co.uk
2)Andy Makings, Sales Manager, Interfarm UK Ltd on 01354 741414 or 07831 251348
via e-mail andy.makings@interfarm.co.uk