Basic Herbicide Protection as a Prerequisite for Yield
Despite the military and climate challenges, sunflower and corn will remain important crops for Ukrainian farmers. To achieve high profitability in the season, it is essential to build a protection system that maximally mitigates threats that could hinder their normal growth and development. This is particularly emphasized by specialists from Ukravit, especially during the initial phenophases.
This is reported by AgroReview
“The wide-row planting combined with slow growth during the early phases makes corn and sunflower plants extremely sensitive to weed infestation during the initial stages of organogenesis,” notes Oleksandr Myhlovets, head of the agronomy department at Ukravit. “Even minor weed infestation during the herbicide-critical period can lead to losses in future yields due to competition for vital resources, phytocenotic pressure, and the indirect threat from pests and diseases, for which weeds serve as reservoirs. This situation elevates the use of soil herbicides in the cultivation technology of these crops to a priority position. A properly selected basic product will help reduce the density of annual weeds per unit area, create a competitive-free environment for the growth and development of cultivated plants, and subsequently reduce the application rates of insurance herbicides. In cases of sufficient moisture levels, it may even allow for their non-use, which will positively impact the realization of the yield potential of varieties and hybrids.
When selecting a basic herbicide protection, the specialist advises considering the type of weed infestation specific to the field, the preceding crop that may become a source of volunteer plants, the mechanical composition of the soil, its humus content, moisture level, and temperature conditions at the time of spraying. Taking these conditions into account will help identify the optimal solution that will reliably protect the crops.
To control the most common weeds in sunflower, corn, as well as soybean, sorghum, and potatoes, Oleksandr recommends choosing the herbicide Varyah (metolachlor, 315 g/l + terbuthylazine, 190 g/l). It effectively controls ragweed, redroot pigweed, catchweed bedstraw, field mustard, black nightshade, lambsquarters, field bindweed, mouse-ear (species), barnyard grass, and other weeds while preventing the emergence of subsequent waves of germination.
Metolachlor in the herbicide belongs to the inhibitors of long-chain fatty acids. It does not move significantly within the plant. The main site of absorption and action in grassy weeds is the seedlings, while in broadleaf weeds, it is the root system. The active substance is absorbed from the upper layer of the soil by young seedlings and roots, causing weed death and preventing their emergence. Terbuthylazine is absorbed by both leaves and roots and blocks the transport of electrons involved in the photosynthesis process, resulting in the death of unwanted vegetation.
Varyah has a wide “technological window” for application – soil spraying can be conducted before, during, or after the sowing of crops, but before the emergence of seedlings. It can be applied to corn and sorghum at the stage of up to 5 leaves of the crop. At the same time, it does not exhibit phytotoxicity towards the crops and completely degrades in the soil, so there are no further restrictions on crop rotation organization.