SPRING INTO ACTION WITH SORRENTO: A HELPING HAND FOR POST-EMERGENCE HERBICIDES Written by Sarah Ferrie from Interagro From drought to downpour and every scenario in between, it seems that every season comes with a new set of challenges for growers in the UK. Following a wet and waterlogged autumn/winter season, this spring is shaping up to be especially tough in terms of weed control.
Following months of heavy rain, many winter crops sown last autumn missed their usual pre-emergence herbicide treatment, while others have established poorly and lack the competitiveness needed to thrive. This means large, vigorous, overwintered weeds could be harder to control this spring, with herbicide coverage and uptake more challenging than ever. Post-emergence herbicides need spray coverage and contact across the leaf - something difficult to achieve when dealing with large weeds. Driftreducing nozzles can help, but they do limit coverage and often fail to provide adequate deposition on any fine, vertical grass-weeds. This is particularly relevant as, unfortunately, it’s not just the lack of early treatment that’s a problem for autumn-sown crops. Lying dormant in wet soils over the winter, blackgrass seeds now also pose a higher germination threat than usual.
performance of the most effective herbicide products will be crucial to safeguard yields and limit weed seed return as much as possible when growers are able to get going again.
Performance boost New to farms this spring, Sorrento is a unique activator adjuvant perfectly suited to help optimise the performance of post-emergence herbicides, helping growers overcome challenging application conditions. Helping ensure good coverage on more established weeds, Sorrento delivers fast penetration into leaf tissue. Sorrento drives optimum contact, activity
and speed in herbicide performance, essential in protecting yields and maximising profits as we move into key growth stages for crops.
Effective treatment While spraying weeds with herbicide may seem like a fairly straightforward task, good post-emergence weed control depends on well-timed sprays, small weeds and good conditions. First and foremost, a good dose of postemergence herbicide must come into contact with the surface area of the weed. Next, the herbicide must be retained on the leaf with sufficient time to penetrate and be absorbed. Finally,
Having had the chance to grow and harden over the winter months, large weeds will have greater potential to detoxify herbicides applied, their tough, waxy cuticles making penetration with post-emergence herbicides ever more difficult. Without action, we are likely to see weeds gain the upper hand in many crops in the coming months. As herbicide resistance issues become more commonplace in post-emergence chemistry, making weed control even more problematic, optimising
74 DIRECT DRILLER MAGAZINE
ISSUE 9 | APRIL 2020