Broadway Sunrise set for starring role in autumn 2011

A well-planned programme, tailored to specific farm and field conditions will ensure winter wheat growers can make the most of the wide spectrum of grass weed control offered by the new Dow AgroSciences herbicide Broadway Sunrise in autumn 2011.

Last autumn was the first use season for the new product based on the innovative active ingredient pyroxsulam plus pendimethalin. Broadway Sunrise proved effective in the face of weed challenges that included blackgrass, ryegrass, bromes and wild oats. The combination of both contact and residual activity against the key grass weeds and broadleaved weeds proved particularly attractive to users in the first season.

’Feedback from users and agronomy trials has shown that care is needed to make the most of the product’s potential,’ said Dow AgroSciences cereal weed control expert Stuart Jackson. ’All the evidence of recent years makes it clear that whatever the grass weed challenge, no single product can deliver the levels of control needed to protect yield and prevent weed populations building up.’

Making the most of Broadway Sunrise requires tailoring a programme of products that take account of weed challenge, soil type, establishment technique, season, etc. That is why Dow AgroSciences will hold a series of training events to ensure agronomists and crop advisers understand how to address the weed challenge on individual farms.

Common to most uses is a programmed approach that begins with a pre-emergence treatment.

’Our trials have shown that the best start to grassweed control comes from an application of at least 240g ai/ha of flufenacet,’ says Mr Jackson. ’It needs to be applied as a true pre-em, no more than seven days after drilling. The so-called peri-emergence approach will not give as good control, particularly when it comes to tackling blackgrass infections.’

In addition to effective control of the key grass weeds, an autumn application of Broadway Sunrise will deliver good control of a wide range of broadleaved weeds present ’ a feature which is referred to as ’cross spectrum’ weed control.