Stacking full rates of pre-emergence blackgrass herbicides may be one way of taking the pressure off Atlantis (mesosulfuron + iodosulfuron) next season, according to Syngenta‘s Stephen Williams.

The firm demonstrated various pre-emergence options at the ADAS Boxworth open day (3 June), but the most effective against blackgrass were full rate mixes of Defy (prosulfocarb) with either Liberator (flufenacet + diflufenican) or Crystal (flufenacet + pendimethalin), with the latter probably having the edge.

No plot was oversprayed with Atlantis, Mr Williams said. “One of the challenges as Atlantis’s performance become more questionable, as we’re seeing this year, is can we throw the kitchen sink at blackgrass early to avoid using Atlantis at £33/ha.”

Using full rates of pre-emergence products wasn’t cheap, he admitted. Those particular combinations are likely to cost around £60/ha. “But if growers want to maintain profitability, particularly where Atlantis isn’t working well, then they will have to consider high levels of inputs.”

More stories from ADAS Boxworth open day:

• Significant rain needed to prevent yield loss
• Triticale could be alternative second cereal
• Nitrous oxide emissions measured
• Blackgrass sampling advice
• Applying nitrogen to flowering oilseed rape could increase yields