Need for multiple modes of weed control

Managing herbicide-resistant weeds is a growing concern across the Midwest, and farmers are realizing that incorporating multiple modes of action is no longer an option, it is a necessity.

“Weed resistance is real,” said Gordon Vail, Ph.D., technical product lead for Syngenta. “For farmers, it is no longer a question of if, but when resistant weeds will make their way into their fields.”

With weeds such as waterhemp, lambsquarters and ragweed becoming harder to control with glyphosate and other single-mode-of-action herbicides, farmers are overlapping pre-emergence and post-emergence residual herbicides for maximum control.

“A lot of companies claim their products have multiple modes of action. But if one mode of action is an ALS inhibitor and you have ALS-resistant weeds, that means a two-mode-of-action product essentially only has one mode of action that works against that weed,” Vail said. “These are the types of things we’re trying to teach our customers. When you’re considering a herbicide, it’s important to think, ‘What components in this product are actually controlling the weeds I have at the time I’m spraying them?’”

For the 2013 season, farmers who have relied on Lexar and Lumax herbicides for their consistent performance, long-lasting residual control, application flexibility up to 12-inch corn and proven crop safety will get an added benefit—an enhanced formulation designed for improved handling.

“Whether a farmer or a retailer applies new Lexar EZ or Lumax EZ, they are really going to like the new formulation,” said Bob Kacvinsky, agronomy service representative for Syngenta. “Those who have used these products in trials have been very impressed.”

Lexar EZ and Lumax EZ are based on the same capsule-suspension technology as Halex GT, which has risen in popularity to become the number one glyphosate premix in corn, according to Kacvinsky.

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