Liberator (diflufenican + flufenacet), the market leading residual herbicide from Bayer CropScience, has now gained full label approval permitting it’s application up to before 31st March, allowing growers a much wider application window.
Flufenacet is widely acknowledged as the most robust pre-emergence active substance for control of black-grass, so the new approval increases the flexibility of timing and sequences available to growers. The changes do not apply to the other major flufenacet product, BASF’s Crystal (flufenacet + pendimethalin).
"Under the latest approval a sequential application of an extra 0.3L/ha of Liberator can be applied until before 31st March, to give a maximum seasonal dose of 0.9L/ha, the maximum individual dose remains at 0.6L/ha" says Tim Holt, Bayer CropScience product manager. "Agronomists and growers have been eagerly awaiting these changes so that Liberator can be used on late-drilled crops which haven’t received a herbicide application going into the new year, following potatoes or sugar beet, for example, or, where growers want to take advantage of the robust residual activity on late germinating black-grass.
Keith Norman, technical director at Velcourt agrees, "The extension will be a great help, particularly this year with the autumn being so dry; it will enable growers to top up residuals. Some held back pre-em applications as they waited for black-grass to emerge and this gives them another chance."
"Across our 28,000 hectares of wheat we directly manage or advise on through the Velcourt Agronomy Service, about 30% has challenging black-grass. Liberator has become the mainstay of our herbicide programme and this latest approval gives greater flexibility particularly where crops are late drilled."
"The increased maximum total dose means Liberator can be used twice in a season once at the pre-em timing and again as a residual partner with Atlantis WG (mesosulfuron + iodosulfuron)," explains Mr Holt.
"There are some restrictions with this new approval, for those considering a sequential application of 0.3L/ha Liberator, the first application of Liberator must have been applied before GS 13 of the crop and at least 6 weeks elapsed between applications.
Another Bayer flufenacet-containing product, Firebird, also has approval for two applications at 0.3L/ha up to 31st March.
