Farmers and retailers were caught off guard last week when the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the labels for Engenia®, FeXapan® and XtendiMax®. The legal ruling landed during a critical time for farmers that had planned on using this technology to control yield-robbing weeds in their fields. Over the past few days, some state regulatory agencies have challenged the legal decision, making soybean and cotton weed control decisions even more complex.
While the legal tug-of-war continues in the courtroom, farmers have to be prepared to control troublesome weeds in their soybean and cotton fields today. Fortunately, there are options to control the wide range of weed species in these crops. However, selecting the correct herbicide will require growers to re-think their approach this season.
First, it will be very important for growers to work closely with their Helena Representative to review the weed pressure on a field-by-field basis. The Inspex® program from AGRIntelligence® will help growers identify weed pressure and species. This information will be vital to develop a plan to control hard-to-kill weed species and fully understand what seed variety is being managed. The bottom line is there may not be a one size fits all approach for the 2020 soybean and cotton crop.
What was once old is now new!
Following the introduction of Roundup Ready® technology nearly 25 years ago, growers enjoyed the simplicity of leaning on herbicide tolerant programs to control weeds. In many cases, the industry abandoned many proven and effective chemistries because of their complexity. While growers may be frustrated with the recent ruling, we still have some great herbicide options to control challenging weeds in these crops.
Sinister® is a concentrated formulation of fomesafen co-formulated with a unique adjuvant system. It is an effective pre- and post-emergence choice for control of tough glyphosate- and ALS-resistant pigweed and other resistant weeds. Sinister is labeled to control over 50 broadleaf weeds and offers fast results and excellent residual activity.
Provonis® is a unique, patent-pending liquid formulation of cloransulam-methyl designed to maximize herbicide spray efficacy. Provonis controls tough weeds, including glyphosate-resistant species, in pre- and post-emergence applications in soybeans. The liquid formulation has a built-in adjuvant system for superior coverage and absorption. Provonis improves speed of knockdown on key broadleaf weeds like marestail, morningglory and ragweed.
Growers are encouraged to contact their Helena Sales Representative to learn more about AGRIntelligence and to determine if Sinister and Provonis are solutions for their farm.