Many wheat growers have held back on their pre-emergence herbicide treatments as seedbeds have been so dry and those that have applied them may well be disappointed by their performance. The dry conditions has also delayed black-grass emergence and black-grass herbicides such as Atlantis may be pushed back until after Christmas. But what should growers do in the meantime to keep competitive broad-leaved and grass-weeds at bay?
The answer is to think out of the box and try out the residual and contact-acting herbicide FMX (flumioxazin or SumiMax), particularly as its optimal performance window is early post-emergence, says Interfarm UK Ltd.
"Applying pre-emergence herbicides in wheat this season hasn’t been straight-forward. So it is fortuitous that the herbicide FMX (flumioxazin), which offers excellent control of broad-leaved weeds and valuable control of annual meadow-grass, rye-grass and black-grass, works best when applied early post-emergence. This is normally from November onwards and the recent rains and declining temperatures have made conditions even better," says Dr. David Stormonth, Technical Manager for Interfarm UK Ltd.
He explains that in trials, applied early post-emergence at 100ml/hectare when weeds were between the one and three-leaf stage, flumioxazin gave 100% control of charlock, chickweed, fumitory, groundsel, field pansy, red deadnettle, ivy-leaved speedwell and mayweed, 99% control of cleavers, common field speedwell and Shepherd’s-purse and 98% control of poppy."
"Flumioxazin also gave over 90% control of annual meadow-grass, 80% control of rye-grass and 65% control of black-grass, applied early post-emergence," he says.
This year David advises growers to wait for the optimum timing for SumiMax. "For optimal performance of SumiMax, weeds should be 1-3 leaves and the crop should be hardened off by cooler weather. The soil should be moist. As is the case for most post-emergence herbicides, it is best to avoid soft or lush crops, waterlogged crops or crops under stress. The use of a tank cleaner is recommended after spraying."
"SumiMax fits into most weed situations either alone or as the foundation product in a herbicide programme. In non-black-grass situations, it is the best solution for the post-IPU and trifluralin era, offering season-long and consistent control of Annual Meadow-grass and a wide range of broad-leaved weeds," says Dr. Stormonth.
For black-grass situations, SumiMax can be tank mixed with a wide range of grass-weed herbicides or sequenced with any other herbicide or group. "In black-grass situations flumioxazin fits in early post emergence when black-grass has 1-2 leaves. It can be mixed with other partner herbicides such as Liberator (flufenacet and DFF) or chlorotoluron. It can then be followed up by Atlantis (mesosulfuron-methyl and iodosulfuron-methyl-sodium) later in the autumn or after Christmas. Having no following crop restrictions, no following cultivation issues and no variety issues makes SumiMax a very flexible herbicide to use in any weed control programme," says David.
SumiMax contains 300 gms ai/litre flumioxazin, formulated as a white, non-staining, easy-to-use suspension concentrate, packed in a 500 ml pack. Recommended in winter wheat, it can be used pre or post-emergence up to before GS 15 for the control of a wide range of broad-leaved weeds, including charlock, chickweed, cleavers, common field speedwell, common poppy, field pansy, fumitory, groundsel, ivy-leaved speedwell, mayweed, red deadnettle and Shepherd’s purse, and grass-weeds, including Annual meadow-grass and loose silky bent. It is recommended at 100 ml/ha in 200 litres of water, with one application per crop. It has residual and contact activity. It is compatible with a wide range of autumn products but should not be used with any adjuvants or pendimethalin. It can be sequenced with any product including sulphonylureas, but a 14 day interval should be allowed. Don’t forget the use of a proprietary tank cleaner after spraying to thoroughly clean all spray equipment, including booms, pumps, filters and lids. Flumioxazin is available as SumiMax, Digital and Guillotine.
For further comment and information, please contact Dr. David Stormonth, Technical Manager, Interfarm UK Ltd. on 01354 741414 or 07818 036506 (mobile) or via e-mail david.stormonth@interfarm.co.uk.
