Don’t delay weed control, growers urged

Growers have been urged to take advantage of the ’best start to weed control for years’ and make full speed ahead with their autumn herbicide programmes - resisting any temptation to leave applications of Atlantis WG until spring.

Independent agronomist Patrick Stephenson says the opportunities for achieving outstanding weed control this year are golden. "As an agronomist, I’m looking at the crops and the current conditions and thinking I’ve one of two options.

"I either wait to see what happens in the spring, as so many people are wont to do, or I react according to what I see and feel now.

"But I think any agronomist who advises his customers to do nothing now and wait for spring applications is very likely to find himself with a rapidly declining client base. Getting ahead with your programme this autumn should be a key priority.

"We’re looking at near-perfect conditions that will see growers achieve outstanding results from the right choice of products. And because we’re working against a background of such positive wheat prices, the likes of which we’ve not seen for years, there should be no concerns about whether serious investment in a herbicide programme is going to pay off."


Mr Stephenson, whose customer base is throughout Yorkshire and the North of England, points out that no-one travelling to Cereals from the North last year could have failed to notice the serious black-grass problem facing growers across a wide swath of England.

"You’ve got a rare opportunity to really knock black-grass on the head this year, provided you make the right choice in your programme."

Mr Stephenson expects to make his first recommendations for Atlantis WG applications this week, particularly now the weather is forecast to turn colder. "Growers need to monitor crops closely and be prepared to act quickly, in order to make the most timely applications.

"The choice of residual partner will depend largely on the pre-emergence combination used," he advises, "but I would be plumping for pendimethalin or Auxiliary (prosulfocarb + clodinafop-propargyl).

"Although stale seedbeds will have performed well this year, with high levels of black-grass germinating, recent conditions have aided continuing germination and growth. A timely, well-chosen application of Atlantis and appropriate residual partner will pay dividends."

Finally, Mr Stephenson assures growers not to worry too much about applying ’hot’ mixes to the crop. "Yes, there’s a fair bit of lush, soft growth this year. But we’re the right side of December for any phytotoxic effect - in other words, a bit of scorch - to have a negligible effect on the crop. And in my book, some minor scorch is a price worth paying for the levels of weed control we can achieve under current conditions."