Plentiful soil moisture combined with the inability to apply as much residual herbicides in autumn planted crops as originally planned will mean that broad-leaved weeds will be competing heavily with crops that are already struggling and that there will be more weeds to treat overall this spring.
Growers need to focus on weeds that are the most competitive or are more of a nuisance at harvest such as cleavers. Interfarm, who now market the contact-acting amidosulfuron (Eagle), indicate that Eagle should be a top contender to apply this spring, as it controls cleavers along with charlock, runch, volunteer rape, Shepherd’s-purse and field forget-me-not in a wide range of crops.
“Poor autumn conditions have meant that many cereal crops did not receive any residual herbicides and are in need of broad-leaved weed control this spring. These conditions have also led to more hectares being available for spring crops, including spring barley, spring wheat and spring linseed.
Applied from the 1st of February onwards, Eagle has label recommendations for use in winter wheat, winter barley, winter rye, winter linseed, oats, triticale, spring wheat, spring barley and spring linseed. It is one of the few recommended herbicides for spring linseed, the area of which is expected to double this year. There could be many more spray opportunities for this herbicide this spring,” points out Dr. David Stormonth of Interfarm UK.
David advises growers to focus on the more competitive broad-leaved weeds. “Cleavers are the most competitive weed in the rotation – 1.7 cleavers per metre² will cause a 5% yield loss. They also are a real nuisance at harvest, interfering with harvesting. They produce high seed numbers per metre² and, if left unchecked, will only perpetuate the problem by adding to the seed bank for future crops. You cannot afford to ignore them,” says Dr. Stormonth.
Eagle can be applied to winter or spring cereals from the 1st February onwards and from crop growth stage GS 12 (two leaves) up to and including first awns just visible (GS49) and in linseed from the 1st February and crop growth stage of first pair of leaves unfolded up to before flower buds visible.
“In practical terms this is a wide window of application, but weeds need to be actively growing,” says David.
The dose rate for Eagle is flexible according to the weed size. In cereals if cleavers are over 15 cms across or for any weed size in linseed, the full dose rate of 40 gms/hectare should be used.
In cereals if cleavers are up to 15 cms the dose rate is 30 gms/ha and when mixed with certain other herbicides with some cleaver activity themselves, such as Atlantis WG, Hatra, Horus, Othello and Pacifica, the dose rate is 15 to 20 gms/ha.
For additional grass-weed control, Eagle can be tank-mixed or sequenced with Atlantis WG, Hatra/Horus, Pacifica and Othello.
For best results and maximum crop safety, it is advised to tank-mix Eagle with only one of the grass-weed herbicides listed with Biopower.
For additional broad-leaved weed control, Eagle can be tank-mixed with Ally Max SX, BiPlay SX, Traton SX, Calibre SX, Chimera SX, Avro SX, Finish SX, Presite SX, Harmony M SX, Concert SX, Inka SX. Eagle should not be tank-mixed or used in sequence with any other ALS inhibiting herbicide unless the tank-mix or sequence is approved by CRD.
Interfarm is the new sole UK supplier for Eagle as well as three PGRs, Cerone, Upgrade and Strate. This new marketing arrangement between Interfarm UK and Bayer CropScience UK is part of an on-going development of distribution arrangements between both companies within the UK.
