2003 Experience Underlines Value of Flexibility In Spring Weed Spraying

February, 2004 - Build as much flexibility as possible into your winter wheat weed spraying this spring if you want to avoid the disappointing control seen by many last season, as well as minimising your costs, advises ProCam technical agronomist, Nick Myers.

"Many growers who went-in early with spring herbicides last year saw very poor control of problem grass weeds like wild oats and brome," he pointed out, "not to mention broadleaves like cleavers. "In contrast, those who were able to wait out the dry spell before spraying achieved excellent results.

"This all goes to show the value of staying flexible so you can respond to changing conditions rather than being committed to too rigid a programme.

"Build-in as much flexibility as you can and you will also to able to maximise overall crop economy by combining herbicides with T0 or T1 fungicides and a wide range of PGR timings," he added. "That way, you’ll get the most reliable weed control from the fewest possible field operations."

To secure sufficient flexibility, Nick Myers advises growers to base their spring programmes around herbicides with extended application windows, wide activities and compatibilities. He also suggests resisting the temptation to tackle problem weeds like wild-oats, brome, cleavers and volunteers too early in the season.

Regardless of the particular spring, he explains that delaying treatment tends to mean better spraying conditions and maximum emergence of later germinators, giving more reliable and complete control.

He provides the following guidelines for success:

• Assess your actual grass weed threats field-by-field and treat them accordingly;


• Choose herbicides with wide application windows and tank-mixability;


• Avoid unnecessarily early treatment which can easily be wasteful; and,


• Make the most of every tank-mixing opportunity to minimise spray passes.