CEREAL GROWERS now have greater flexibility for grass weed control after a new label extension for one trifluralin product, Makhteshim Agan has announced.

The Pesticides Safety Directorate has agreed that Alpha Trifluralin 48EC can be used through to growth stage 22, making it the only trifluralin product that can be used at this late timing, said the firm‘s Elizabeth Spence.

“This is a real bonus for those looking to get on top of black-grass populations with Atlantis mixes prior to the spring,” she said.

“Using established trifluralin chemistry alongside the new active ingredients in Atlantis, will help take the pressure off the more modern chemistry, helping reduce any potential build-up in resistance.”

Unlike pendimethalin, there is currently no recorded instance of blackgrass resistance to trifluralin, she said.

Combined with the lower price for trifluralin, this may allow growers to cut the cost of post-emergence weed control, she said.

With many fields unsprayed before Christmas due to wet ground conditions, she believes the use of mixes that can be applied later in the season will be more popular.