Protecting against black-grass resistance

Against a background of steadily increasing resistance to herbicides, farmers with black-grass to control are looking seriously at the sustainability of weed control strategies. Stephen Moss from Rothamsted, Jim Orson from The Arable Group and Gordon Anderson-Taylor of Bayer CropScience discuss the issue of herbicide resistance and make recommendations for how best to hold onto the essential actives currently available.

Both Target Site Resistance (TSR) and Enhanced Metabolism Resistance (EMR) are threatening the efficacy of cereal herbicides. There has been a steady increase from both mechanisms but EMR is the major form of resistance threatening the most important cereal herbicide, Atlantis WG. Protecting against EMR should be the focus of all growers with black-grass to control, according to the experts.

Applying Atlantis WG early when black-grass plants are small and actively growing is essential but so is the use of a robust, flufenacet based pre-em. According to Dr Stephen Moss, getting pre-emergence herbicides onto crops in good time, and in suitable conditions, is critical for sustainable black-grass control in the foreseeable future.

Getting the best from Atlantis WG also involves attention at application. Dr Gordon Anderson-Taylor, herbicides development manager with Bayer CropScience, is urging all growers to check sprayer nozzles, boom heights and spray patterns to make sure they are getting the maximum efficacy from the product.