Bringing In A Veteran Player to Help Growers Beat Resistant Weeds
REWRITING THE WEED CONTROL PLAYBOOK
Weed scientists throughout the corn belt have been cited in article after article stressing the message that effective control of resistant weeds requires a multi-play approach. We know that there is no single practice that will keep weeds such as Palmer amaranth and waterhemp from impacting yield. The more players, with a different mode of action in your weed management playbook, the better your odds of beating weeds long-term.
Dr. Pat Tranel, Associate Head, Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois was quoted in an article The Bad News on the Future of Weed Management1 “Kill every weed at least twice,” says Tranel. “In other words, use at least 2 effective modes of action in every field. With just one mode, the weed will develop resistance and survive, he says, but kill it with two or three and it will die.”
Belchim Crop Protection is excited to bring TOUGH® 5EC back to growers for the 2021 season. The active ingredient in TOUGH® 5EC is Pyridate, a Photosynthesis II inhibitor that works by blocking a weed’s photosystem II process, triggering the release of toxic forms of oxygen and causing rapid cell wall degradation. Pyridate is a highly effective mode of action in corn and shows increased levels of weed control in tank-mix combinations.
- Pyridate is applied after emergence of the weed.
- Pyridate is quickly absorbed by the leaves (rain-fast within 60 minutes).
- Pyridate blocks photosystem II of the weed by irreversibly binding to the D1 protein and inhibiting the transport of electrons. High energy electrons then interact with oxygen, producing toxic forms of oxygen.
- The toxic forms of oxygen interact and degrade the cell’s membranes resulting in necrosis (browning) and ultimate death to the weed.
Synergy On The Field
TOUGH® 5EC is an ideal tank mix partner, as a resistance management tool, with HPPD inhibitors. TOUGH® 5EC herbicide puts a charge in your post emergence weed control program with rapid and complete control of your broadleaf weeds including resistant Common Waterhemp, Palmer, Pigweed and Giant Ragweed. Field research has shown adding TOUGH® 5EC to the mix, improves performance; promoting faster weed death and overcoming HPPD resistance. See Figure 1
The Final Score
As suggested by Dr. Tranel, and most weed scientists, using at least two modes of action, will increase your odds of winning the game. Belchim USA has partnered with many field and university cooperators in trials including players of three effective modes of action – atrazine, HPPD inhibitor herbicides, and pyridate. Why? When only atrazine and HPPD inhibitors are combined, the metabolic pathway in HPPD resistant weeds also degrades atrazine, and the plant metabolizes atrazine before it can assist the HPPDs. However, pyridate moves into the leaf quickly along with the HPPD herbicide to reach the target sites before they can be degraded. See Figure 2
Dr. Bill Johnson of Purdue University was one of our cooperators in the summer of 2020 who conducted a trial to evaluate TOUGH® 5EC as part of a post emergent program for enhancing control of glyphosate-resistant Common Waterhemp in Corn. Click on link to watch the results. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmOVYwfpSAw
The results are impressive- TOUGH 5EC is helping growers to win the game and beat resistant weeds!
1https://www.unitedsoybean.org/article/field-day-breaks-the-bad-news-on-the-future-of-weed-management