Herbicide rule reminder issued for very late drilled crops
© Tim Scrivener Agchem firm Bayer has issued guidance to help farmers stay on the right side of the law when using herbicides in very late drilled winter wheat crops.
Autumn storms have disrupted drilling which could see winter wheat being drilled into February, but this has consequences on what herbicides can legally be used.
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Bayer campaign manager Tom Chillcott said: “We’ve seen in other wet autumns that some farmers will drill in the middle of winter if conditions seem promising.
“The key date is 1 February. Any wheat variety drilled before this date is classed as a winter crop for which there are more herbicide options available than for spring crops, but check labels carefully for the exact rules.”
Tom stresses that label rates often apply to winter wheat varieties drilled before 1 February only.
Spring wheat varieties, even if they are drilled in January, have a more limited range of chemistry available.
For Bayer products, Liberator (flufenacet + diflufenican) and Proclus (aclonifen) are still permitted as a pre-emergence until the end of January.
However, the Liberator (flufenacet + diflufenican) component can be applied at full rate (0.6 litres/ha) until 31 March or growth stage 23 and products containing metribuzin can be used until GS25.
