Cereal growers haven’t had the easiest start to the season to date with dry conditions in the south delaying wheat emergence and subsequent growth and with wet conditions in the North which delayed harvest and made drilling up a challenge. To help overcome the season’s challenges, what growers need are herbicides that are flexible, with wide crop and weed activity, a wide window of application plus the ability to work well under varying conditions.
Dr. Dominic Lamb, UK and Ireland Business Manager for Gowan reminds growers that Avadex Excel 15G is a lot more flexible than many other autumn applied herbicides. "For a start Avadex granules can be used in virtually all autumn sown crops - winter wheat, winter triticale, winter rye and winter beans and it has SOLA for use in winter oilseed rape and in winter linseed. It has a very useful weed spectrum making it an herbicide worth considering if you have black-grass or if you don’t. Growers are well aware of its ability to sensitise black-grass and brome, but it also controls wild-oats, annual meadow-grass and Italian rye-grass. In Gowan trials Avadex Granules gave a mean control of 89% of wild-oats, a mean of 63% for black-grass and a mean of 60% control of sterile brome."
It also controls a good range of broad-leaved weeds including cleavers, charlock, chickweed, poppy, speedwells, mayweeds and red dead-nettle. In trials it gave 91% control of field speedwell, 87% of red-dead nettle, 78% of forget-me-knot, 75% of ivy-leaved speedwell, 69% of poppy, 66% of mayweeds and 63% of cleavers, which is a very useful bonus effect in cereals, beans and oilseed rape crops.
Avadex Granules also has a much wider window of application than many appreciate. "In winter cereals it can be applied pre-emergence of crop and weeds or post-emergence of the crop from when the drill rows are apparent before first node detectable or 50% ground cover, with wild-oats up to 2 leaves and before emergence of annual grasses and broad-leaved weeds. With high dormancy and hence long emergence of black-grass, this fits particularly well this year," says Dominic.
Dr. Lamb reports that in Masstock trials Liberator (flufenacet + diflufenican) followed by Avadex gave better weed control than Avadex followed by Liberator. "The theory is that the flufenacet, being a strong component of the weed control programme needs to go on at the best time for its best performance. The priority in such a year as this, with protracted black-grass germination, is to drill the crop, get the Liberator on and follow up with Avadex, taking advantage of its residual life to extend the weed control window. Introducing Avadex into the programme means that you are also mixing your modes of action which can only be a positive when it comes to weed resistance management."
Finally NIABTAG weed experts report that Avadex is the herbicide that is least effected by dry seedbeds. "These experts are saying that when surface layers are very dry, perhaps too dry for weed seed germination, herbicide efficacy is generally reduced and the relative performance of herbicides may change. They point out that tri-allate is least affected, which is reassuring for many growers and advisors who are considering options under the continuing dry weather," says Dr Lamb.
Dominic Lamb reminds growers and advisors that Avadex granules will be available in the long term and will be marketed alongside other tri-allate formulations under development. "Avadex has an increasingly important role to play in all winter crops for black-grass control but also for control of other grass-weeds including brome and meadow-grass as well as a range of key broad-leaved weeds. Its performance and flexibility make it a key component to integrate into any weed control programme right across the country."
