The window for the control of difficult broad-leaved weeds in winter oilseed rape this spring is likely to be short. Rene Pollak of Dow AgroSciences points out that, despite most parts of the country experiencing a very cold winter, as soon as the warm weather returns, weeds will start to romp away and will need checking before they become too big a management problem.
"Growers have a very limited choice of spring-applied herbicides in rape, yet there are always some difficult weeds species to contend with. The cold weather will have opened up crop canopies and weeds such as mayweeds, cleavers, sow-thistles and creeping thistle will be waiting to compete directly with the crop. Such leggy weeds also smother the crop, making harvesting much more difficult and more costly. To be honest this year, most rape crops just don’t need any further stress after the winter they have come through. Effective weed control is needed as soon as conditions allow."
"Galera works very well on these weeds but can only be applied up to the point just before flower buds are visible above the crop canopy - usually at the end of March or beginning of April. Farmers who are plagued with these difficult and costly weeds must make sure that they have Galera in the store in readiness for optimum application," explains Rene.
"Galera is based on two active ingredients clopyralid and picloram and will work best when weeds are starting to grow and when temperatures are starting to rise. Applied at 0.35 l/ha, it will give excellent control of mayweeds, creeping thistles, sow-thistle and very good suppression of cleavers. Groundsel is also well controlled up to the 6 leaf stage. This level of performance and weed spectrum has been reflected in the extent of usage on farm and its widespread adoption as the main spring herbicide for winter oilseed rape."
Rene Pollak reminds growers to be aware of their responsibility of keeping pesticides well away from water courses. "More and more farmers are putting in permanent grass buffer strips adjacent to main water courses and this is clearly a good thing. For those that don’t, it is something that should be planned for and extra care needs to be taken at time of spraying."
Galera (267 g/L of clopyralid and 67 g/L of picloram formulated as a suspension concentrate) is recommended post-emergence in all varieties of winter oilseed rape for the control of broad-leaved weeds including cleavers, mayweed, sow-thistles and thistles. It can be applied from the 4 leaf stage of the crop up until before flower buds are visible above the crop canopy. It is recommended at a dose rate of 0.35 l/ha and is compatible with a wide range of graminicides, insecticides and fungicides. It is packed in a 1 litre container.
